April 30, 2010
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame men’s tennis players Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) were named to the 2010 All-BIG EAST team it was announced by the conference on Friday afternoon.
Watt, a sophomore, has now earned All-BIG EAST honors in his first two seasons with the Irish. Havens, a junior, has been named an All-BIG EAST selection for the first time in his career, while Stahl, a junior, earns his second career honor. Stahl was previously named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team as a freshman before the conference switched its current format of selecting a team based on complete season results.
All told, the 2010 Men’s Tennis All-BIG EAST team includes 13 student athletes. Seven of the 13 players were unanimous selections by the conference’s head coaches, including Stahl.
Watt, Havens and Stahl have played the majority of the season at first, second and third singles, respectively, for the Irish. The trio has guided Notre Dame to a 15-12 record and a national ranking of 38th. Most recently, the Irish finished as the runners-up at the 2010 BIG EAST Championships.
Watt has amassed a 20-18 overall record in the 2009-10 season and a 9-16 mark when lining up at No. 1 singles in dual season play. Six of his nine wins came against ranked opponents. Havens has posted 14 wins overall, including nine during the dual season. Eight of his nine wins came at the No. 2 position, while he also added a win at No. 1 singles. Stahl has been a staple at the No. 3 position, posting a 12-7 mark at that spot during the dual season. Overall, Stahl carries a 20-14 singles record on the year and a 13-9 dual season singles record.
Havens and Watt have also played the majority of the 2010 dual campaign at No. 1 doubles and have posted a 9-6 mark. Stahl has settled into the third doubles position with teammate David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich). The duo has made 18 starts together during the dual season and notched eight wins.
Watt, Havens, Stahl and the Irish have made a strong case to join the NCAA Championship field for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons by virtue of an at large bid. The NCAA Division I Tennis Championships Selection Show is scheduled to reveal the 2010 field between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4 on ESPNEWS. Check back with und.com for more details once the Irish learn their postseason fate.
Men’s All-BIG EAST Team
Austen Childs, Jr., Louisville *
Simon Childs, Jr., Louisville *
Vanja Grgec, Sr., DePaul
Robert Hall, So., Louisville
Milo Hauk, So., St. John’s
Stephen Havens, Jr., Notre Dame
Wael Kilani, So., USF *
Mike Lampa, Fr., St. John’s
Viktor Maksimcuk, Jr., Louisville *
Dusan Medan, Sr., Marquette *
Daniel Stahl, Jr., Notre Dame *
Casey Watt, So., Notre Dame
Yannick Yoshizawa, So., USF
Men’s Player of the Year
Austen Childs, Louisville *
Men’s Freshman of the Year
Mike Lampa, St. John’s
Men’s Coach of the Year
Rex Ecarma, Louisville
–ND–