2013-14 PBC Yearbook July 2014 | Page 50

In singles play, the Pirates dropped five of six first sets - two by tiebreakers. Frattini extended the Argos lead to 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Cerin at No. 5 singles. Armstrong rallied though, forcing the third set in all of the remaining matches. No. 20-ranked Kononov defeated No. 13 Tony Rajaobelina, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-0, at No. 2 singles to draw the Pirates back to within one, 3-2. No. 11-ranked Peyrot downed No. 29-ranked Hernandez, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1, at No. 3 singles, for West Florida to push the lead back to 4-2, then Latella finished off the match with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 win over Okrutny at six singles, more than four hours after the match began. Thomas Hipp named Director of Tennis at Flagler Flagler College Director of Athletics Jud Damon announced the appointment of Thomas Hipp to the position of director of tennis this afternoon. He will start on August 21. In his role, Hipp will serve as the third head men’s tennis coach in the program’s 40-year history and oversee the dayto-day operations of the Flagler Tennis Center. He will inherit the women’s program in 2014-15 after long-time head coach Walter Shinn retires. “Coach Hipp is an outstanding tennis coach who is well-prepared to lead our program back to national prominence,” said Damon. “He has great leadership, recruiting, and instructional abilities, an incredible work ethic, and a passion for excellence. I believe he will make sure that the tennis programs always represent Flagler College in a first-class manner on and off the court. We are thrilled to welcome Thomas on board.” Hipp comes to Flagler from Barry University where he spent seven years as an assistant tennis coach and played four years for the Miami Shores-based school. He helped coach the men’s team to a perfect 29-0 record and the NCAA Division II national title this past season. He was on the staff of the 2010 men’s national championship team. Barry was the national runners-up three times (2008, 2009 and 2011). Hipp was also an assistant coach for the women’s team that brought home a national title in 2011. “I would like to thank Mr. Damon and everyone on the search committee for this tremendous opportunity,” said Hipp. “I am very excited and motivated to be the director of tennis and head coach at Flagler College. The school has a lot of potential and my goal is to become a title contender in the near future.” A native of Germany, he was a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America in singles and doubles in his playing days at Barry. Hipp holds the program’s record for career wins as he compiled a 67-13 overall record in singles play and his .837 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time. He was a four-time ITA Scholar All-America. Hipp was inducted into the Sunshine State Conference’s (SSC) Hall of Fame in March 2012. Hipp was the 2006 SSC Athlete of the Year and Player of the Year. At the conclusion of the 2004-05 academic year, he earned the league’s Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, becoming only the second student-athlete in the history of the Sunshine State Conference to earn its 48 2014 Peach Belt Men’s Tennis Elite 15 Awards presented by GradesFirst Diego Zegarra, Lander All-Academic Team Gustav Anderson Georgia Regents Oscar Axelsson Lander Ettore Damiani USC Aiken Victor Guimaraes Georgia Regents Martin Harach Young Harris Eimon Heywood Francis Marion Adam Jonsson Lander Ristomatti Lanne Lander Stephen Moore Georgia Southwestern Patrick Stiebinger USC Aiken Diego Zegarra Lander Oussama Zoghlami Columbus State Honorable Mention: Luke Bateup, Francis Marion; Mateus Camasmie, North Georgia; Rodrigo Magan, North Georgia; Tim Ruepke, Francis Marion; Giovani Santos, North Georgia; Marius Wahlier, Francis Marion 2013-14 Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year during their career. He was a four-time All-SSC selection in singles and was a three-time All-SSC pick in doubles. In 2003, he was tabbed the SSC Freshman of the Year. Hipp earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Barry in 2006 and completed his master’s in sport management as well as marketing in 2010. Nine PBC Men’s Tennis Players Named All-American Nine Peach Belt Conference men’s tennis players have been named All-Americans by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Columbus State and Lander led the PBC with three selections each while Armstrong added two and Flagler one. To be named an All-American, a player must have been ranked among the top 20 in singles or top 10 in doubles in the final ITA rankings of the year. The PBC dominated the list with more than ¼ of the 32 honorees. Following a breakout season, Columbus State University junior Oussama Zoghlami received the honor in singles while the doubles team of Marco Almorin and Adi Malicbegovic also earned All-American status by the ITA. Zoghlami becomes just the sixth All-American singles player in program history. However, the junior is just t