Steve Finkernagel

Steven Wilson was named the Freedom Conference Player of the Year for the second time in his career

SIX COLONELS NAMED TO ALL-FREEDOM MEN’S TENNIS TEAMS; WILSON NAMED POY, D. PARFIANOWICZ ROY, LEICHT COY

5/21/2014 2:05:00 PM

SIX COLONELS NAMED TO ALL-FREEDOM MEN'S TENNIS TEAMS; WILSON NAMED POY, D. PARFIANOWICZ ROY, LEICHT COY

ANNVILLE, PA – Six Wilkes University men's tennis players were named to the 2014 All-Freedom Conference team as announced by the Middle Atlantic Conference office Wednesday afternoon.

Among the six Colonels chosen, Wilkes' Steven Wilson (Bronx, NY/JFK) was named Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Dominic Parfianowicz (Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy) earned Rookie of the Year honors and head coach Chris Leicht was selected Coach of the Year.

Max Appello (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) earned a first team nod, while junior Brendon Blachowski (Newtown, PA /Council Rock North), sophomore Michael Kranz (Depew, NY/Lancaster Central) and rookie Adam Lefkandinos (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) were all named second team choices.

Wilson, the reigning Freedom POY as a sophomore, continued to prove why he's considered the top player in the league named to the first team for a second straight season finishing 21-6 overall at No. 1 singles for Wilkes. He went a perfect 6-0 in conference matches, while teaming with Alex Makos (Mansfield, PA/Mansfield) to go 19-4 from No. 2 doubles this year. It marked the third time a Colonel was chosen POY as Wilson has been tabbed with the honor twice along with Hassan Shah in 2002-2003.

Appello was named to the first team after receiving second team honors as a rookie last season. He held down the No. 2 singles position for Wilkes all season finishing 20-5 overall and 5-0 in league matches. He went 7-1 over his final ten matches. Appello paired with Lefkandinos to go 7-1 in a brief stint in doubles competition this season mostly in tournament style formats.

D. Parfianowicz became the third straight Rookie of the Year award winner for Wilkes after teammate Michael Kranz (Depew, NY/Lancaster Central) collected the honor a year ago. In his first season at Wilkes, Parfianowicz went 16-7 overall and 5-0 in league matches from the No. 3 and 4 single positions. He teamed with his brother Jacob to form the Colonels top tandem in doubles play finishing 20-6 at the top spot.

Lefkandinos, a second team selection, led all Wilkes single players with a 25-2 overall mark in the Wilkes lineup primarily from No 4. Just a freshman, Lefkandinos went 11-1 in dual play and a perfect 5-0 in conference matches. His 92.5 winning percentage (25-2) ranks fourth all-time in a single season at Wilkes.

Kranz was solid all year long at the No. 3 and 4 positions claiming a 22-3 overall record on his way to his second straight All-Freedom honors. He finished 13-1 in dual matches while going 4-0 in conference wins this season. Kranz teamed with Blachowski to go 22-4 from the No. 3 doubles position.

Blachowski rounded out the list of Colonels selected to the All-Freedom squads garnering his second consecutive second team choice. Blachowski was consistent in his third year in the Navy and Gold finishing with a 14-4 record from the No. 6 spot. Teaming with Kranz at No. 3 doubles, the duo's 84.6 winning percentage (22-4) ranked sixth all-time in Wilkes single season history in doubles play.

Leicht earns his seventh Coach of the Year honors after leading Wilkes to an 18-2 overall record and seventh consecutive Freedom title and NCAA Tournament berth. The Colonels reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. Leicht has now coached 40 All-Conference selections, six rookie of the year, and three players of the year through his twelve years at the helm of the men's program at Wilkes.

2013-14 All-Freedom Conference Team
Player of the Year: S. Wilson
Rookie of the Year: D. Parfianowicz
Coach of the Year: C. Leicht

First Team
M. Appello, Wilkes
Anthony Bevevino, King's
Stephen Brand, King's
D. Parfianinicz, Wilkes
George Parkhurst, King's
S. Wilson, Wilkes

Second Team
B. Blachowski, Wilkes
Mitch Gettis, FDU-Florham
M. Kranz, Wilkes
A. Lefkandinos, Wilkes
Jacob Rohring, King's
Grant Williams, Eastern

Honorable Mention
Bryan Gielsman, Stevenson
Ryan Hurdes, FDU-Florham

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