By Christian Malone
VALDOSTA — Seven Valdosta State tennis players have been named to the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Division II All-America team. Four Blazers and three Lady Blazers were honored for their play this season.
Daniel Dueren, Florian Halb and Joerg Ekkenga all made the men’s All-America team in singles, while Ekkenga joined Leos Jelinek to make the doubles All-America team. From the VSU women’s team, Dominique Rothlaender and Natali Gumbrecht were chosen All-Americans in singles, while Rothlaender teamed with Tina Trautmann to also become an All-American in doubles.
Dueren, who played No. 1 singles for VSU, was ranked No. 4 in the nation in the final Division II rankings. The sophomore from Koeln, Germany went 11-3, with all three losses coming to players ranked in the top four nationally. He also went 16-4 in doubles, partnering with Michael Kuech. Dueren was the Gulf South Conference East Division Player of the Year.
Halb was the 12th-ranked player in the nation, playing No. 2 singles for the Blazers. The senior from Wilhermsdorf, Germany went 11-3 in singles and 16-2 in doubles (playing with Otto Lenhart). He was also an All-American last year.
Ekkenga finished the season ranked 17th in the nation, playing No. 3 singles. He went 12-2. This was the third straight year the junior from Oldenburg, Germany was chosen an All-American.
Ekkenga and Jelinek remained one of Division II’s elite doubles teams. The duo, who were All-Americans last year, were ranked in the top two in the country all year. They went 13-4. Jelinek, a senior from Prague, Czech Republic, also went 11-3 as VSU’s No. 4 singles player.
Gumbrecht had a dominant year for Valdosta State’s women. The junior from Sachsen bei Ansbach, Germany went a perfect 13-0 this season. She finished the year ranked No. 17 in Division II. She also went 16-4 in doubles (primarily playing with Kristel de Groot). Gumbrecht was chosen the Gulf South Conference East Division Player of the Year.
Rothlaender earned All-America honors for the second time. The junior from Koeln played No. 1 singles and was the No. 16 player in the nation. Her record was only 4-8, but six of her eight losses came to players ranked in the top six in the country, and the other two came to players ranked No. 11 and 12.
In doubles, Rothlaender and Trautmann were ranked No. 5 in the nation. The German pair (Trautmann is from Ahrensburg) went 9-6 in doubles play (five of the six losses came to top-5 teams).
Valdosta State’s men finished the season 16-4 and went undefeated in Gulf South Conference play. The Lady Blazers made it to the national semifinals before falling to Armstrong Atlantic State, the eventual national champions. The Lady Blazers finished 14-4, with just one loss in conference play.
To become an All-American, a singles player must finish in the top 20 of the final ITA rankings, while a doubles team must be ranked in the top 10.
