July 1, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle men's tennis coach Ed Colfer announces the addition of three freshmen to the team's roster for the 2010-11 season. Chas Berenato (Hammonton, N.J./St. Augustine Prep), Joseph LaBate (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph Academy) and Mikel Kosich (Parker, Colo./Nordoff) will join the Explorers at 20th and Olney Avenue.

"We lost some leadership last year," Colfer said. "We are looking for these guys to step in and I'm confident they will become good tennis players and future leaders."

Berenato hails from St. Augustine Prep in New Jersey. Named the 2010 Atlantic County Weeklies' Boys Tennis Player of the Year, Berenato is coming off a senior season in which he went 29-3 and made it to the semifinals of the South Jersey Interscholastic Championships. As a freshman in high school, he helped lead his squad to its first-ever New Jersey State Championship

Berenato will reunite with former St. Augustine's teammate and current Explorer George Gennaoui. Earlier this year Berenato set a new St. Augustine's Prep record for career wins with 123, a distinction previously held by Gennaoui.

LaBate helped lead his Mount Saint Joseph Academy Gaels to the 2010 regular season MIAA A Conference title and a perfect regular season record. The Gales finished as the runner up in the 2010 conference championships. A National Honor Society member, LaBate was named All-MIAA in 2009 and 2010.

Kosich comes to La Salle after honing his tennis skills at the Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai, Calif and then under coach Brad Stine, former coach of former No. 1 Jim Courier, in Fresno, Calif.

As a freshman at Mountain Vista High School in Highland Ranch, Colo., Kosich finished third in the state at the #3 singles position. Kosich won the #1 singles position sophomore year and compiled a 3-1 record before sustaining a season-ending injury. The Mountain Vista High School boys' tennis team won the Academic State Championship for the highest team GPA in 2008 and 2009.

The men's tennis team will open its 2010-11 campaign at home against West Chester on September 11.