Shannon named to first team, Hoffner and Sanford named to second team

RINDGE, N.H. (April 22, 2002) - Franklin Pierce juniors Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers), Michael Hoffner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and Ricky Sanford (Stratford, Conn./Brunell), earned All-Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis honors as announced by the Conference office this afternoon.

Shannon earns his first All-Northeast-10 honor as he was voted to the first team by the Conference coaches. He recorded a perfect 11-0 record at #4 and #5 singles in NE-10 Conference regular season singles matches.

Shannon also posted a two-set win against nationally ranked Assumption College on April 5 making him the first Conference player to take a point from the Greyhounds this spring. His lone Conference singles loss came against Bryant College in the Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals. Shannon currently sports a combined record of 16-5 overall in his singles matches, 12-1 in the Northeast-10. Shannon has also enjoyed success at #2 and #3 doubles with a combined 14-7 clip.

"I am extremely happy for Art," said head coach Chet Porowski. "In my opinion, he's probably the most deserving player in the League to receive All-Conference honors as he played at a high level all season."

Hoffner and Sanford earned a spot as a doubles pair on the All-Conference second team. Hoffner and Sanford posted a 19-6 combined overall record at #1 and #2 doubles and registered an outstanding 11-2 combined record in their Conference doubles matches. Their lone Conference losses came to nationally ranked Assumption and in the NE-10 semifinals.

"Michael and Ricky are a great doubles team," said Porowski. "They really played well together and were a big part of our success. The recognition is well deserved."

Franklin Pierce sports 15-10 overall record (10-2 NE-10) and awaits word on a possible NCAA Division II Tournament berth to be announced tomorrow morning. Franklin Pierce earned the second seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, but was defeated by Bryant College in the semifinal round over the weekend.