Sanford highlights list with first team honors at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles

RINDGE, N.H. (April 29, 2003) - Six members of the Franklin Pierce men's tennis team earned All-Northeast-10 Conference honors as voted by the Conference coaches. The Conference office made the announcement of the All-Northeast-10 honorees Monday afternoon.

Senior Ricky Sanford (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) earned first team All-Conference honors for his performance at both No. 3 singles and No.1 doubles. Sanford earns his first spot on the first team after capturing third team honors as a sophomore and second team honors for doubles as a junior.

Sanford enters this weekend's NCAA Division II East Regional at #3 singles with an 11-10 record overall, 8-3 clip in Conference play.

Sanford also had a banner year with doubles partner, junior Darko Minic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), as the duo earned a No. 3-ranking in the East Region with a 13-6 record overall with a 7-2 finish in the NE-10 at the No. 1 doubles spot. The first team All-Conference honor is also a first for Minic.

Both sophomore Maciej Szpakowski (Cieszyn, Poland/Mattituck (N.Y.)) and senior Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) were named to the All-Conference second team for singles, as well as the second team for their work at #2 doubles. The duo posted a 15-5 doubles record overall with a 9-1 mark in the Conference.

Szpakowski earns his first All-Conference honor in singles after posting a 13-7 mark with a 7-2 record against Conference opponents.

Shannon earns his second All-Conference honor after being named to the first team last season. Shannon was one of the team's most consistent singles players, closing out the season with a 20-2 record overall, 10-1 in the NE-10. In addition, Shannon enters the NCAA Tournament riding a 17-match singles winning streak.

Joining Szpakowski and Shannon on the second team is sophomore Ryan Jones (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), who earns his first All-Northeast-10 Conference selection. Jones was a key performer at the #6 singles spot this season with a 10-8 overall record, 7-2 in the NE-10.

Jones also earned All-Northeast-10 Conference third team honors for his work at #3 doubles with partner, senior Michael Hoffner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh). The All-Conference doubles team honor is Hoffner's second of his career. The pair sports an 11-6 record overall with a 7-2 mark in the Conference. Hoffner and Jones were instrumental in the Ravens defeat of Bryant College in the Conference tournament semifinal, as they were the lone doubles pair to register a point in the match.

With nearly his whole team earning All-Conference honors this season, head coach Chet Porowski couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of this year's selections.

"I am very proud of the team," said Porowski. "All six men showed up to compete in every match and didn't have any bad days."

"They beat all the teams they were supposed to beat, and even pulled off some victories they weren't sure they could along the way," Porowski continued. "The honors are just a testament to their commitment and consistency."

Franklin Pierce finished the Northeast-10 Conference regular season with a 14-10 record overall with a 7-2 finish in the Conference, advancing to the Conference title match for the first time in program history. The Ravens have earned their second-straight NCAA Tournament bid and will be face Kutztown University in the first round of the East Regional on Friday in Kutztown, Pa., at 2 p.m.