Milo and Yovanoff earn All-UAA for men's tennis, Lamanna and Payman named Coaching Staff of the Year
WALTHAM, Mass. — After the conclusion of the 2010 University Athletic Association men's tennis tournament, the Brandeis men had two athletes and the coaching staff honored by the conference.
Earning second-team All-Association honors were the rookie doubles tandem of Steven Milo of Woodbury, N.Y., and Dave Yovanoff of Eden, N.Y. The pair dropped their match in the opening round against the University of Chicago, 8-6, a match that the fifth-seeded Judges won 5-4, over the fourth-seeded Maroons, who were ranked 15th in all of Division III. With that victory, the Judges advanced to the winners bracket of the UAA tournament for the first time since 2003.
Though Brandeis lost to top-seeded and second-ranked Washington University, 5-1, in the semifinals, and to third-seeded and seventh-ranked Carnegie Mellon University, in the third-place match, Milo and Yovanoff were responsible for two of the three Brandeis points. They defeated the first-team All-UAA selections, Kareem Farah and John Watts of Washington, 9-8, in the semifinals, taking the tiebreaker by an 8-6 score. Against tournament host Carnegie Mellon, Milo and Yovanoff were 8-5 victors. Overall this season, the tandem were 6-5 as a team at second doubles, including an 8-0 win over a squad from Division I Bryan University.
By helping their team finish in the top half of the standings in the UAA for the first time since 2003, fifth-year head coach Ben Lamanna and first-year assistant Payum Payman were selected as the UAA men's tennis Co-Coaching Staff of the Year, along with the coaches of team champion Emory. The Judges finished in eighth place in the conference in 2009, giving them a four-place improvement. Overall, the Judges finished the year with a 9-10 record, with six of their 10 losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked teams. Their wins included victories over one nationally-ranked Division III team (Chicago), as well programs from NCAA Division I (Bryant) and Division II (Bentley University). The Judges return all of their top doubles players and their top five singles players for 2010-11.
Milo is a 2009 graduate of Syosset High School. He is the son of Sheldon and Trudy Milo, Woodbury, N.Y.
Yovanoff is a 2009 graduate of Eden High School. He is the son of John and Linda Yovanoff, Eden, N.Y.
For more information on Brandeis men's tennis, please visit our web site at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/spring/mten.