Men’s tennis junior Javier Garrapiz was named first team All-SEC and seniors Nate Schnugg and Jamie Hunt were named to the second team, according to the league’s official awards announcement sent out Thursday.

The honor is the third for Garrapiz, who was named to the second team in 2008 and 2009. It is the fourth All-SEC nod for both Hunt and Schnugg in their careers.

Garrapiz stands at 27-17 on the year, including an 8-4 mark when playing at No. 2 singles for the Bulldogs. He is currently ranked 24th in singles and No. 30 in doubles along with Schnugg. Schnugg stands at 22-15 on the year, and 8-2 when playing at No. 2. He is 7-3 in the SEC in 2010 and stands at No. 81 in singles and No. 42 in doubles with Hunt. Hunt is 21-8 on the season, including a 15-4 tear at No. 3 singles and 7-3 in the SEC.

Tennessee’s Sam Winterbotham was tabbed SEC Coach of the Year, while the Vols’ John-Patrick Smith took Player of the Year honors. Co-Freshman of the Year honors went to Tennessee’s Rhyne Williams and Vanderbilt’s Ryan Lipman, while Alabama’s Saketh Myneni grabbed SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Bulldogs will next participate in the NCAA Regionals on campus sites to be announced May 4. The 2010 NCAA Championships will be held May 20-31 in Athens.

Coach of the Year: Sam Winterbotham, Tennessee
Player of the Year: John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee
Co-Freshmen of the Year: Rhyne Williams, Tennessee / Ryan Lipman, Vanderbilt
Scholar Ahtlete of the Year: Saketh Myneni, Alabama

All-SEC First Team
Saketh Myneni, Alabama
Tim Puetz, Auburn
Alex Lacroix, Florida
Javier Garrapiz, Georgia
Eric Quigley, Kentucky
Marcel Thiemann, Ole Miss
Pedro Campos, South Carolina
Boris Conkic, Tennessee
Davey Sandgren, Tennessee
John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee
Rhyne Williams, Tennessee
Ryan Lipman, Vanderbilt

All-SEC Second Team
Chris Nott, Arkansas
Tim Hewitt, Auburn
Alex Stamchev, Auburn
Antoine Benneteau, Florida
Jamie Hunt, Georgia
Nate Schnugg, Georgia
Alex Musialek, Kentucky
Neal Skupski, LSU
Tucker Vorster, Ole Miss
George Coupland, Mississippi State
Diego Cubas, South Carolina
Tennys Sandgren, Tennessee

All-Freshman Team
Tim Hewitt, Auburn
Sekou Bangoura Jr., Florida
Bob Van Overbeek, Florida
Anthony Rossi, Kentucky
Tennys Sandgren, Tennessee
Rhyne Williams, Tennessee
Ryan Lipman, Vanderbilt

Four Georgia Players Honored by SEC

The Southeastern Conference honored four Georgia women’s tennis student-athletes Thursday. Sophomores Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist along with senior Yvette Hyndman earned All-SEC honors while junior Cameron Ellis was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

Gullickson and Gilchrist were selected to the All-SEC First Team for the second year in a row by the league coaches and Hyndman made the All-SEC Second Team.  Hyndman is a four-time All-SEC selection.  She was named to the First Team in 2007 and 2008 and Second Team in 2009.

Currently, Gullickson is ranked 12^th in singles with a 24-8 record including 8-3 in the SEC.  She is ranked eighth in doubles with Gilchrist.  They are 20-6 overall and 9-2 in the conference in doubles.  Ranked 42^nd, Gilchrist holds a 20-11 singles record and is 5-6 in the SEC.  Hyndman is 15-15 with a 9-2 SEC record.  She is 15-8 with Ellis in doubles and 7-4 in the conference.

Ellis, a junior from Roswell, Ga., is Georgia’s representative to the SEC Women’s Tennis Community Service Team.  The SEC sponsors Service Community Teams in all 20 sports.  The Community Service Team looks to highlight athletes from the SEC who give back to their community in superior service efforts.  Some of Ellis’ projects include the Tri-Delta Carnival for Kids, Bowl tournament and Pancake Supper to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and instructor for the 2008 and 2009 Tennis Block Party for Children.  She also volunteers for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council Can-A-Thon.

Georgia is ranked 19^th nationally with a 12-8 overall mark, and the Bulldogs tied for second in the SEC with an 8-3 mark. Last weekend, they played host to the SEC Championships and reached the quarterfinals. Up next, they will find out where they will compete in the first round of the NCAA Championships, which begins May 14 at campus sites around the country. Georgia has made 23 straight appearances in the NCAA Championships.

The NCAA Tennis Selection announcement of the field of 64 along with the host sites for first and second round action will be on May 4 at approximately 5 p.m. on ESPNews. The individual selections to the singles and doubles will be announced on May 5 at approximately 6 p.m. on NCAA.com.

The Round of 16 through the Finals of the team tournament along with the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will take place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens from May 20-31.

Bulldog Track And Field Shoots To No. 15 In National Poll

With the first break of the outdoor season arriving this week, the Georgia men’s track and field team went from being unranked to 15th in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll released this week.

Georgia is off this weekend before returning to action at home as the Bulldogs host the Georgia Invitational on Saturday, May 8.  The Bulldogs then travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 13-16.

This marks the first time the Bulldogs have been ranked in the outdoor polls this year.  The Georgia men finished 11th at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Georgia is one of eight teams from the SEC in the top 25, including three in the nation’s top five. The Bulldogs were holding down the No. 42 spot in the last poll released.

Six Georgia team members are in position to score at the NCAA Championships with individual rankings in the top 10 in their respective events.  Senior Branislav Danis launched the fifth-longest hammer throw in the country (222 feet, 7 inches) at the Spec Towns Invitational.  Danis’ throwing partner, senior John Freeman, is No. 7 on the national list after reaching a personal-best 220-3 to win this past weekend’s Drake Relays.

Sophomore Brian Moore moved into scoring position with his career-best javelin launch of 231-10 at the Bulldog Limited, which puts him at the No. 8 spot in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC.  Also, sophomore Aaron LaGarde is also tied for the ninth-best long jump in the country after traveling 25-5.25 at the early-season Yellow Jacket Invitational.

On the women’s side, sophomore Nikola Lomnicka has the nation’s longest mark in the hammer throw (216-9) and is leading the SEC by 17 feet.  In addition, sophomore Kristie Krueger is ninth on the 1500-meter list after clocking a 4:18.58 at the Florida Relays.

Also of note, senior pole vaulter John Egan, who has already been awarded a post graduate scholarship in conjunction with the SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award, was given the Dick Bestwick Scholar-Athlete Award at the annual Academic Roundtable ceremony earlier this week.  This award is given to the senior male athlete with the highest GPA.

Taylor, Lainhart and Women’s Golf Win Top Honors At Academic Roundtable

Senior gymnast Grace Taylor, senior swimmer Hunter Lainhart and the women’s golf team received top honors at the annual University of Georgia Academic Roundtable Tuesday night at the Classic Center.

The Southeastern Conference Boyd McWhorter Post Graduate Award, given to a male and female student-athlete from each SEC school to put towards the pursuit of a graduate degree, was awarded to Lainhart, a senior from Jupiter, Fla., and Taylor, a senior from Aiken, S.C.

The women’s golf team was honored with the award for Highest Team Grade Point Average for the 2008-2009 academic year with a 3.34 GPA.

Senior pole vaulter John Egan of Atlanta, Ga., and senior gymnast Marcia Newby of Virginia Beach, Va., were presented the Brad Davis SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship Award. The scholarship is awarded every year to a male and female student-athlete to be put toward a post-graduate degree.

The Marilyn Vincent Award, which recognizes the senior female athlete with the highest GPA, was presented to senior swimmer Lisa Caprioglio of Highlands Ranch, Colo. The Dick Bestwick Scholar-Athlete Award was given to Egan for being the senior male athlete with the highest GPA.

Newby was also recognized as this year’s winner of the Hornsby Howell Community Service Award which is presented to a student-athlete who contributes a significant amount of time to volunteering throughout the campus and community.

Bejan Abtahi and Newby were both recognized for their leadership at the event. Abtahi, a senior distance runner from Nashville, Tenn., was announced the winner of the Dick Copas Leadership Award for his outstanding leadership. Newby was recognized as the winner of the Clifford Lewis Leadership Award for her leadership on the Student Athlete Advisory Council.

Senior women’s basketball player Ashley Houts of Trenton, Ga., and sophomore football player Aron White of Columbia, Mo., were presented with the UGA Athletic Association Sportsmanship Award.

The Faculty Athletic Representative Award, given to the men’s and women’s teams with the highest GPA, was awarded to the men’s and women’s golf teams.