Eric Hayes Named Coach of the Year, Bears Place Three on All-Conference Teams

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer tennis head coach Eric Hayes was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year while three Bears earned spots on the All-SoCon teams, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

Sam Philp and Olivier Stuart were each named to the Singles First Team in addition to the Doubles First Team, playing as the Bears' No. 1 duo this season.

Philp played at the No. 1 singles slot for the Bears this year, tallying an 11-6 overall record, including a win over No. 11 ranked Wayne Montgomery of the University of Georgia. Philp was the first player to become ranked in Mercer history and stayed in the rankings for the majority of the season.

Stuart played No. 2 in nearly every match this season, recording a 13-4 mark on the year. Stuart led the SoCon in win percentage (.786) at the No. 2 singles slot this year, with a 5-1 conference record.

Philp and Stuart went 10-6 as a pairing this season at the No. 1 duos position. The duo held a 4-2 record against SoCon opponents this year.

In addition to Philp and Stuart's honors, junior Fernando Guardia was named to the Singles Second Team, at the No. 4 position. Guardia led the team in wins (12), posting a 12-8 overall record and 4-2 SoCon mark.

This is now Hayes' fourth Coach of the Year Award over the course of his career. Hayes has previously claimed this honor at South Florida in the Metro Conference (1999) and twice at Troy in the A-SUN Conference (2004) and Sun Belt Conference (2010). Hayes was also named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year for the Southern Region in 2010.

Mercer earned the No. 2 seed in the SoCon Tournament and will face No. 7 seeded hosts, Chattanooga, on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Chattanooga, Tenn.

2018 SoCon Men's Tennis Postseason Awards
First Team
Singles
Sergi Fontcuberta, ETSU
Robert Herrera, ETSU
Cameron Green, Furman
Sam Philp, Mercer
Olivier Stuart, Mercer
Connor Thompson, UNCG

Doubles
Cameron Green/Jake Munns, Furman
Sam Philp/Oliver Stuart, Mercer
Connor Thompson/Nico Grewe, UNCG

Second Team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 – Lucas Cerbelli, Wofford
No. 2 – Ollie Palmer, UNCG
No. 3 – Edu Villar, Wofford
No. 4 – Fernando Guardia, Mercer
No. 5 – Aleksandar Petrovic, Samford
No. 6 – Miguel Este, ETSU

Doubles (by position)
No. 1 – Jake Faundez/Eduardo Lourido, Samford
No. 2 – Marcus Vidgren/Logan Walker, UNCG
No. 3 – Sergi Fontcuberta/David Gonzalez, ETSU

All-Freshman
Ivan Mitric, Furman
Oliver Palmer, UNCG
Aleksandar Petrovic, Samford
Rossouw Norval, Samford
Edu Villar, Wofford
Omar Williams, Wofford

Player of the Year
Connor Thompson, UNCG

Freshman of the Year
Ivan Mitric, Furman

Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award
Niklas Gerdes, Chattanooga

Coach of the Year
Eric Hayes, Mercer

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Eric Hayes Named Coach of the Year, Bears Place Three on All-Conference Teams

Players Mentioned

Fernando Guardia

Sam Philp

Olivier Stuart

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