TRINITY'S BETHEA AND RUSH HEADLINE SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE’S 15TH ANNIVERSARY MEN’S TENNIS TEAM

SUWANEE, Ga. – Trinity University’s Brian Bethea and Sloan Rush, the only two-time Players-of-the-Year in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's tennis history, highlight an impressive list of 12 past standouts named to the SCAC's 15th anniversary men’s tennis team.

Bethea, the league's Player-of-the-Year in 1993 and 1994, was an All-SCAC selection for three consecutive years at No. 1 singles for the Tigers. Bethea was an All-American in 1995 when he and partner Jamie Saben advanced to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Doubles finals before losing to Todd Born and John Weston of Redlands.

Rush earned SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors in 2000 and 2001. Those same two years, behind Rush's strong play at No. 1 singles, Trinity advanced to the national championship match, winning it all in 2000 and finishing as national runner-up in 2001. Rush, a two-time All-American, finished second at the 2000 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles Championships, losing to Carnegie Mellon's Kayvon Fatahalian, 6-3, 6-4, in the title match. As a senior, he and partner Ed Rahn advanced all the way to the 2001 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Doubles finals before falling to Derek Fitzpatrick and Nick Cunningham of UC-Santa Cruz.

With 13 team championships in 14 years of competition, Trinity was awarded the lion's share of spots on the 15th anniversary men's tennis team. Joining Bethea and Rush on the squad are former Tigers: Jamie Broach, Jeff Mueller, Ryan Scott, Jordan Taillon and Chris Zolas.

Broach was a three-time All-SCAC selection, culminating with the league's Player-of-the-Year award his senior season (1998). He was also an All-American selection that same season. Broach had a 10-1 career record in SCAC tournament singles play. Mueller earned SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors as a junior in 1999 and was an All-American that same season. He played No. 5 singles for the 2000 Trinity team that defeated Gustavus Adolphus to win the Division III Men's Tennis Championship. Scott, a three-time All-SCAC selection, finished second in the Player-of-the-Year vote as a junior in 2002. He was a freshman on the 2000 title team and a three-time All-American as a doubles player (2000, 2002, 2003). Taillon, the 2004 SCAC Player-of-the-Year and a three-time All-American (2002, 2003, 2005), compiled an 11-1 SCAC tournament singles record. Zolas was named the league's Player-of-the-Year as a senior in 1996. His final three seasons at Trinity, Zolas went undefeated in both singles and doubles play at the SCAC tournament (1994-1996).

Sewanee: The University of the South placed two former players on the all-anniversary team - Jason Abraham and K.C. Horne.

Abraham was a four-time All-SCAC selection and capped his career with a runner-up finish in the SCAC Player-of-the-Year voting his senior season (2003). In earning All-American honors in 2003, he advanced to the second round of the NCAA's (the furthest of any SCAC individual that year) before falling to the eventual national runner-up. His 22-1 singles record in 2001 is the best single-season individual mark in SCAC history. Horne, Sewanee's most decorated men's tennis player, was an All-American all four years on the Mountain. He was selected as the ITA Division III Rookie-of-the-Year in 1993 - the same year Sewanee won its only outright men's conference tennis title in the SCAC era. Horne earned SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors as a junior in 1995.

Marshall Kuresman, a three-time All-American for DePauw University, was the SCAC Player-of-the-Year as a sophomore in 2003. In 2005, he made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Men's Individual competition and also received the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship, which goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.

J.D. Prichard of Hendrix College was an All-SCAC player at No. 1 singles for three consecutive years (2002-04) finishing third in the Player-of-the-Year voting as a senior. In addition, his last three seasons at Hendrix, he went 9-0 in SCAC tournament play - earning all-tournament honors all three years.

Andy Campbell of Rhodes College was the SCAC Player-of-the-Year as a junior in 2002 - the same year he led the Lynx to a second-place finish at the conference tournament - the program's best finish in the SCAC era. Campbell qualified for the NCAA's as both a singles and doubles player (with partner Duncan Howell) in 2002 and 2003.

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will be announcing 15th Anniversary teams in all 18 sports during the 2005-06 academic year. The SCAC was formed in 1991 after a reorganization of its predecessor, the College Athletic Conference (CAC). The CAC dates to 1962 with four charter members: Centre College, Southwestern @ Memphis (now Rhodes College), Sewanee-The University of the South, and Washington & Lee (Va.) University. Washington (Mo.) University joined the CAC later that same year.

The SCAC was formed to provide an association through which the member institutions may encourage organized competition in intercollegiate sports among teams representative of their respective student bodies. Members of this conference share a commitment to priority of the overall quality of academic standards and quality educational experiences.

The SCAC’s 15th Anniversary teams were selected in each sport through balloting by present coaches and administrators. Athletes who participated in conference competition between the fall of 1991 through the spring of 2004 and had been named to at least two All-SCAC teams were eligible for selection.

x First Team All-SCAC
# Player-of-the-Year

Due to inclement weather, championships were not contested in 1997

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