June 10, 2013

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's senior Alex Veronis was selected to the PhillySIDA/Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Tennis Team, the organization announced on Monday. Veronis is one of six members of the squad selected in a vote of the sports information offices of the Philadelphia area's 31 colleges and universities.

In the same vote, Haverford's Kevin Caulfield was named the All-Area Performer of the Year for the second consecutive season.

It is the second Academic All-Area honor in a row for Veronis, who fought through injury and illness this season to earn Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team honors for the third consecutive year. He was also named to the A-10 All-Academic Team in 2012.

Veronis filled the number-one singes spot for the Hawks, where he earned five victories. Two of those wins came against Atlantic 10 foes in critical conference matchups, including a straight-sets win in the first flight in SJU's Atlantic 10 Championship first-round tilt with Butler. He also went 8-8 in doubles play, with five wins in the third flight.

He finished his Saint Joseph's career with 40 singles victories, tying him for ninth in school history, while his 24 first-flight wins rank fourth all-time.

This season, Veronis became the first Hawk to earn Atlantic 10 All-Conference accolades in three consecutive seasons since Francisco Velazquez earned four straight from 2002 to 2005.

In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area, an athlete must be in at least his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better for his or her entire collegiate career.