TEMPE, Ariz. – The Presbyterian College Blue Hose men's tennis team, who captured the Big South Tournament and a share of the Big South regular-season titles, was recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for its work in the classroom during the 2022-23 academic year. Presbyterian was one of 162 Division I programs to receive the Team Academic Award. Max Benson, Javier Matos, Dusan Milanovic, and Denim Yadav were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
TEAM ACADEMIC SUCCESS
The criteria for the team award include having a team grade point average of 3.2 or higher for the current academic year.
For the 11th time in the program's history and the fourth straight season, the Blue Hose earned the academic honor. Presbyterian posted a 3.43 team GPA for the 2022-23 academic year.
PC and UNC Asheville were the only Big South men's tennis teams to earn the ITA Team Academic Award.
ITA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
Individuals must have had at least a 3.5 GPA for the current academic year to be named ITA Scholar-Athlete. This year, 959 Division I men's tennis players were named an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
MAX BENSON
Benson was a First Team Singles and First Team Doubles All-Big South selection. He teamed with Milanovic to form a doubles tandem that participated in the NCAA Doubles Championships while finishing the season ranked No. 37 in the ITA Doubles Rankings. They recorded 14 doubles wins at the number one spot. The Albany, New York native collected 12 singles wins playing the majority of the season at the number two spot. Benson, who majored in Biology with a minor in Athletic Training, recorded a 4.0 GPA this year.
JAVIER MATOS
Matos earned Second Team Singles and Second Team Doubles All-Big South honors. He finished the season with an 18-4 singles record including a 12-0 mark at number five singles. He teamed with Sebastian Dominguez to record 11 doubles win playing primarily at the number two spot. The La Florida, Caracas, Venezuela native had a 3.60 GPA majoring in Economics this past year.
DUSAN MILANOVIC
This year, Milanovic was named Big South Conference Player of the Year. He also earned First Team Singles and First Team Doubles All-Big South honors. He became the first player in the program's history to earn a spot in the NCAA Division I Singles Championship while finishing the season ranked No. 69 in the ITA Singles Rankings. He posted a 19-3 record at number one singles. He teamed with Benson to form a doubles tandem that participated in the NCAA Doubles Championships while finishing the season ranked No. 37 in the ITA Doubles Rankings. They recorded 14 doubles wins at the number one spot. The Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina native had a 3.64 GPA while majoring in Computer Science. This season, Milanovic was a Big South All-Academic team and a CSC Academic All-District team selection. This is the second straight season that Milanovic has claimed ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades.
DENIM YADAV
This year, Yadav captured the Big South Freshman of the Year award. He also earned First Team Singles All-Big South honors while claiming four Big South Freshman of the Week awards. He recorded 11 singles wins primarily at the number four spot. The Indore, India native had a 4.0 GPA while currently undeclared on his major.
MEN’S WRESTLING
SPARTANBURG – The Presbyterian College men’s wrestling team, who completed their fourth season over the winter, has proven to be just as efficient in the classroom as they were at turning heads on the mat. On Wednesday afternoon, it was declared that 15 Blue Hose grapplers met the qualifications for the SoCon Honor Roll while Jacob Brasseur and Michael Ramirez were chosen for the league’s All-Academic team.
One of nine schools under the SoCon wrestling umbrella, PC was represented by Brayden Adams, Cordel Duhart, Gage Hatcher, Eli Holiday, George Hopkins, Payton Hornsby, Brandon Jacoby, William Leonard, Ryan Luna, Dakota Price, Caleb Roe, Morvens Saint Jean, and Malcolm Wiley on the Honor Roll List alongside Brasseur and Ramirez.
All student-athletes listed on the SoCon Honor Roll maintained a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher over the 2022-23 school year. The guidelines to get into the conference’s all-academic roster, however, are much stricter: invitees must’ve obtained at least a 3.3 GPA, competed in at least 50% of their team’s events, and finished a minimum of three semesters at their institution (thereby excluding true freshmen and first-year transfers).
In total, 595 student-athletes fit the bill for All-SoCon academic status, a number that sits as the third-most in the league’s history. Brasseur and Ramirez carried PC’s torch academically for a squad that continued the program’s ascension with a predominantly young lineup through the winter campaign.
Jacob Brasseur (Lexington, S.C. | R-Sr. | 125) – SoCon All-Academic Team + Honor Roll
One of 223 student-athletes across the conference to earn a perfect 4.0 GPA, Brasseur ended his Presbyterian career in style by becoming one of just 12 wrestlers in the league to achieve the highest grade-point average possible. Behind a major in History, Brasseur was a regular starter for PC on his way to 12 total wins (one of eight competitors on the roster to hit double-digits in the W column). Half of those victories occurred in dual action with four SoCon wins to his credit, grabbing a 5:50 pin in his final home appearance against Gardner-Webb (Feb. 12) which helped the Blue Hose secure their first ever league win in dual play. Brasseur claimed a victory in three of his last four regular season bouts.
Michael Ramirez (Rock Hill, S.C. | Jr. | 157) – SoCon All-Academic Team + Honor Roll
Penciled in as a 157-lb. starter in each conference encounter, Ramirez was a familiar face for head coach Mark Cody’s club during his third season. Backed by a 3.97 GPA next to a major in Biology, Michael assumed his first pin of the winter in a head-to-head meeting with Truett McConnell (4:48 on Dec. 2), going on to win in the opening round of the F&M Open (Jan. 6) over American University in a 2-0 standard decision.
Brayden Adams (Savannah, Ga. | Fr. | 125) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Garnering a 3.55 GPA as a newbie, Adams battled past injury throughout his inaugural year with the program but still submitted his name into three tournaments periodically. The Georgia native picked up his first collegiate win at The Citadel Open (Nov. 13) in a 5-2 decision that toppled Truett McConnell.
Cordel Duhart (Olathe, Kan. | R-Jr. | 184) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Duhart made an immediate impact for the Blue Hose as a normal starter in dual competition, witnessing eight of his 11 total victories in the head-to-head format. The transfer ended with his hand raised in five of his first six meetings, all coming by either technical fall or major decision for a combined score of 57-18. After downing Duke and Brown in succession, Cordel reeled off three consecutive SoCon triumphs before earning a 13-5 MD versus Davidson in the consolation side of the league tournament (March 4). The junior posted a 3.73 GPA across his first two semesters with the program.
Gage Hatcher (Gaffney, S.C. | Fr. | 184) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
A promising true freshman on a squad full of young talent, Hatcher was unable to compete in 2022-23 due to injury and limited availability in duals. He finished his first year in college with a 3.03 grade-point average.
Eli Holiday (Yorba Linda, Calif. | So. | 157) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Seeming to be well on his way towards a regular starter for coach Cody’s club, Holiday’s campaign was unfortunately cut short due to injury concerns after a 3-5 record in nonconference play. Eli scooped up a pair of wins at The Citadel Open, which segued into an 8-3 decision over Queens in his next showing. He completed his sophomore studies with a 3.27 GPA beside a major in English.
George Hopkins (Columbus, Ga. | Fr. | 197) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Getting his feet wet at the collegiate level, Hopkins entered in a trio of brackets for the Blue Hose as a true freshman (The Citadel Open, Appalachian Open, and Newberry Open), competing in the 197-lb. group. George posted a 3.22 grade-point average from August to May in his debut year in Clinton.
Payton Hornsby (Bethune, S.C. | Fr. | 157/165) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
One of 13 true freshmen for a Presbyterian unit that looks poised for the right direction, Hornsby mirrored Hopkins’ output as a rookie by competing in the same three tourneys listed above. Payton earned his first PC W against Keiser at the Newberry Open (10-4 decision), reaching a 3.05 GPA across his first two semesters.
Brandon Jacoby (Myrtle Beach, S.C. | Fr. | 165) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Another newbie with major promise, Jacoby went an even .500 over his debut season (5-5), claiming a couple of dual victories versus Queens and Truett McConnell (the latter result going down as a 4:52 pin). Brandon’s highlight of the campaign came at the Newberry Open, where he raced to a 3-1 mark in class 165 that gifted the rookie a runner-up prize at the event. The Myrtle Beach product took a 3.54 GPA while going through his freshman year.
William Leonard (New Windsor, N.Y. | Jr. | 285) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Intended as the Blue Hose’s heavyweight starter before injury hampered the remainder of his junior stint, Leonard gobbled two dual victories during nonconference territory, the first of which registered as a 3:37 fall against Queens that led into another W over Truett McConnell. Will posted a stellar effort in the classroom by holding down a 3.80 GPA as a Biology major.
Ryan Luna (Gilroy, Calif. | Fr. | 133/141) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Luna thrived in his short-but-impressive tournament endeavors, winning three matches in three separate brackets as a freshman. Next to a 3.17 grade-point average, Ryan’s 9-6 record amounted to the second-best mark of any Blue Hose rookie while reaching a 6th place standing at tournaments hosted by The Citadel, Princeton, and Appalachian State. The first-year upstart gained two pins on the season, the second of which took just two minutes and five seconds in the opening bracket of the campaign from New Jersey.
Dakota Price (Gilbert, S.C. | So. | 141) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Price joined Hopkins, Adams, and Hornsby as underclassmen getting their reps in at tournaments in Newberry, The Citadel, and Appalachian State, picking up his first W of the season in February over New Hampshire. A result that ended in a 5:09 pin, Dakota achieved a stellar GPA of 3.81 this year with a major in Political Science.
Caleb Roe (Arab, Ala. | Fr. | 184) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Another first-year grappler who made a positive impression in a tournament setting, Roe captured five victories all within the bracket system. His most effective performances came in a 15-point tech that toppled Sacred Heart at the F&M Open as well as a 1:47 pin against SoCon opponent Chattanooga in the second round of the Newberry Open. Caleb achieved a 3.87 grade-point average while showing flashes of what’s to come in the future.
Morvens Saint Jean (Fort Myers, Fla. | Fr. | 285) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
Saint Jean was inserted into Presbyterian’s regular starting core midway through the 2022-23 slate, seeing the mat in each conference match except one. Behind a 3.36 GPA, he found his first collegiate victory at The Citadel Open in November, downing a UTC adversary in the consolation side of the bracket.
Malcolm Wiley (Tyrone, Ga. | So. | 197) – SoCon Academic Honor Roll
PC’s final alphabetical member to crack the league’s Honor Roll was arguably the most fearsome of coach Cody’s lineup, as Wiley marched to a team-best 17 wins including a 10-1 trek right out of the gates. Unbeaten in four attempts at The Citadel Open that allowed him to seize the 197-lb. trophy, Malcolm boasted a 12-4 mark after three months of action, punctuated by his selection as the league’s Wrestler of the Week on December 28 that came after consecutive pins against Queens and Duke. With a 3.09 GPA on a Political Science major, Wiley defeated four SoCon foes in dual play (the highlight of which came in the aforementioned W over Gardner-Webb by landing a 13-1 MD that clinched the match), ending the regular season with a combined point difference of 29-2 in his final two affairs.
