March 5, 2011
PHILADELPHIA - After not playing a match since October, the men's tennis team will take the courts during a spring break training trip to Orlando, FL and open its spring season against Creighton on March 7th.
The team will also face Vincennes on March 8th during its swing down south.
With one junior, two sophomores, and three freshmen in the starting lineup, Head Coach Ed Colfer has a very young team to work with this year.
The Explorers will look to their only upperclassman, Fernando Tovia (Jamison, PA/CB South), for leadership. Tovia re-joins the team after spending the fall in Spain, and will look to pick-up right where he left off last spring.
"I'm excited to be back on the team after a semester abroad," Tovia said. "We have a young team with a lot of potential, and being the oldest player on the team it is my job to make everyone work harder and to achieve our team goals."
Returning starter Trevor Donovan (San Diego, CA/Point Loma) has also stepped into a leadership role on the team. A vocal player, he is constantly demanding the best from his teammates.
"This year we more unified as a team than last year," Donovan said. "We have lost some key players in our line-up, but we have also been training hard and have grown together as a team. Right now moral is high and we are looking forward to getting the spring underway."
Donovan is no stranger to high stake situations. Last year he won a three-and-a-half hour match at sixth singles to break a 3-3 tie and give La Salle a 4-3 victory over George Mason. Last fall against conference rival Fordham, he, along with doubles partner Mikel Kosich, broke a 1-1 tie for the doubles point, winning their match 8-4.
Freshman Chas Berenato (Hammonton, NJ/Saint Augustine Prep) will step up as the Explorers #1 player this spring. He is coming off a successful high school career and fall season at #2.
"It is a real honor to be playing #1, but I also know that there is a responsibility that comes with the spot," Berenato said. "It will be a tough spring season, but I am really looking forward to the competition."
Another freshman, Joseph LaBate (Baltimore, MD/Mount Saint Joseph), played mostly at the #4 spot in the spring and at #3 doubles.
"The transition to college tennis was much more physically demanding than I thought," LaBate said. "I am hoping to carry the momentum from the fall into the spring, and continue to work hard."
Of the three newcomers to the team, freshman Mikel Kosich (Parker, CO/Laurel Springs) has traveled the furthest distance to become an Explorer. Kosich spent his senior season of high school at the Stine 360 Tennis Academy in Fresno, Calif.
In the fall Kosich moved around more than anyone else on the team, playing singles matches at #6, #5, #4, and #2.
"I am looking forward to getting back onto the court and playing matches," Kosich said. "So many people have helped me get to where I am now, and I just want to make them proud."
Sam Accardi (Stone Harbor, NJ/Wildwood Catholic), Dan Nieves (Media, PA/Archbishop Carroll), Hunter Selman (Langhorne, PA/Notre Dame), Alex Tomaino (Absecon, NJ/Holy Spirit) will all play a key role on this team. They all have match experience, and will look to help out young teammates.
Over the off-season, the men's tennis team was awarded with the school high team GPA for the Fall 2010 semester. Donovan and Kosich were also named to the Fall 2010 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
