Men's Tennis Named Academic Award Winner

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men's tennis team was recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association as one of its All-Academic Teams and two individuals were also recognized as ITA Scholar Athletes. In order for an institution to be named an All-Academic Team, it must have a combined grade point average of at least 3.20. A total of 42 Division I programs and 248 individuals were honored by the ITA.

The Bulls posted a 2009-10 grade point average of 3.29 and also placed two individuals on the ITA Scholar Athlete list. Rising juniorWojciech Starakiewicz and rising sophomore George Tibil both compiled GPAs above 3.5 during the year.

Starakiewicz, an All-MAC First Team and All-MAC Tournament selection, was UB's number one singles player in 2010, with a 16-7 record, including an 11-6 mark in dual competitions. He was 17-6 in doubles play, primarily in the second slot. Following the fall tournament season, the transfer from Tulsa became the first men's tennis player in UB's Division I history to attain a national ranking as he started the spring campaign ranked 107th nationally and sixth in the Northeast Region by the ITA. He was also awarded a number five seed for the ITA Regional championships, the highest ever for a UB player, but was unable to compete due to illness. Starakiewicz also earned honors this past weekend.

Tibil was named the Bulls' team MVP honors after a spectacular freshman season finishing with a 17-9 singles record and 16-13 doubles mark. Tibil's 17 singles wins tied for second during the season. In the dual season, he went 9-3 at fourth singles and was 3-1 in MAC matches. Tibil scored the deciding point in UB's 4-3 regular season win over Toledo as he downed Leo Sarria in a tiebreaker to claim a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win.

"I am very proud of the team for receiving this award for the first time," said head coach Lee Nickell. Coach [Jordie] Kindervater and I stress success in the classroom first, and receiving this award really shows our hard work."

The Bulls finished the season with a 13-7 overall record and won the MAC's regular season title with a 5-0 mark. UB reached the championship match of the MAC Tournament for the first time in school history, falling to five-time champion Western Michigan in the title match.