April 19, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's freshman Chris Chirico was named the Atlantic 10 men's tennis Most Outstanding Rookie Performer in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches following the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship conference officials announced Thursday. In that same vote, Charlotte's Roy Sichel was named Most Outstanding Performer and Charlotte Head Coach Jim Boykin was tabbed as Coach of the Year.

Chirico's brother Jarrett, a junior transfer at Saint Joseph's, was also honored by the Atlantic 10, being named to the All-Conference First-Team.

Chris Chirico, a freshman from Sarasota, FL garnered Most Outstanding Rookie laurels for winning three of his singles matches and all four of his first doubles tilts while teaming with his brother, Jarrett. Chirico posted a pair of singles wins against Richmond's Chris Louis (6-0, 6-0) Charlotte's Ryan Johnson (6-2, 6-3), and Duquesne's Adam Townsend (6-3, 6-0). In doubles play, Chirico and his brother recorded wins against Richmond (8-1 and 8-0), Charlotte (8-3), and Duquesne (8-1).

Joining Sichel and the Chirico brothers on the All-Conference First-Team are Darren Mansell of Charlotte; Dayton's Tom Murphy; Michael Ortega of Duquesne; George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy; Alejandro Nery of St. Bonaventure; Temple's Nathan Spunda; and Xavier's Ra'ees Ismail, Doug Matthews, and Jeremy Miller.

For a complete listing of the All-Conference teams, including the Academic All-Conference team, visit Atlantic10.org.