KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcat men's tennis team was well represented on the All-MIAA team announced Wednesday. The Bearcats had five on the first team --  securing the top four singles flights. Leading the way were junior Marton Zsiga and freshman Jorge Margiotta.

Jorge Margiotta was named MIAA Freshman of the Year

Zsiga at No. 1 and senior Emilio El Alabi at No. 2 were the only unanimous choices at singles, with Zsiga,  sporting a 15-7 overall mark and 4-1 in MIAA play,  picking up Most Valuable Player honors. Zsiga hails from Szeged, Hungary while El Alabi is from Bahia Blanca, Argentina. El Alabi was 13-6 overall in 2009 and 4-1 in league singles action. Zsiga and El Alabi also earned second team honors at No. 1 doubles.

Margiotta, a native of Coronel Suarez, Argentina, was the first team choice at No. 4 singles and was chosen as Freshman of the Year. He logged a 17-5 singles record and also was 4-1 in MIAA competition.

Senior Agustin Mollar earned first team honors for both No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles with freshman Tyler Welch. Mollar, a native of Tucamen, Argentina, was 13-7 in singles (4-1 in conference play) and 11-7 (4-1) with Welch in doubles. Welch is from Lubbock, Texas.

SBU freshman Jorge Palacios (Mostoles, Spain) and Welch earned All-MIAA Second Team honors at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively.

Washburn's first year head coach, Dave Alden, was the unanimous choice for Coach of the Year, after leading the Ichabods to the MIAA championship. Kevin Schoon, a junior at Emporia State, earned the Sportsmanship Award.

SBU finished the regular season 15-8 and will play Washburn for a third time in the preliminary round of the NCAA Division II Tournament South Central Region #1 at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. Bearcats-Ichabods III will take place on either May 7 or 8 at a time to be determined. The Ichabods won both earlier meetings this season in 5-4 nail-biters.

For more on the All-MIAA team, please click here.

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