Bridgewater's Secord Headlines All-ODAC Men's Tennis Awards

FOREST, Va. --- Bridgewater College standout Canon Secord earned not one but two major individual honors to headline the 2019 All-ODAC Men's Tennis Awards. Secord received ODAC Player and Rookie of the Year awards from the league's head coaches. Virginia Wesleyan University mentor Marty Perry was tabbed the ODAC Coach of the Year, and Washington and Lee University's Mitchell Thomas garnered ODAC/Virgina Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete laurels from the conference's sports information directors.

Much like in the women's ranks, ODAC fans were treated to a new crop of stars throughout the 2019 campaign. Just eight players are repeating as All-ODAC performers. Guilford College's Elijah Gregory is the only singles holdover on the All-ODAC First Team as he moved up from No. 3 singles on the All-ODAC Second Team a season ago to occupy a spot at No. 2 singles on this year's first team. Hampden-Sydney College's Clark Cummings repeats as one-half of a returning No. 3 doubles tandem on the first team, while his partner last season, Grayson Burns, is on the list at No. 2 doubles on the second team. His partner this year, William Driskill, is a second team doubles choice for a second year.

W&L's Harry Shepherd, the 2018 ODAC Player of the Year, appears on the second team along with fellow General and 2018 repeat performer Thomas. Burns appears at No. 4 singles on the second team after a first team selection at No. 6 singles in 2018. Virginia Wesleyan's Anthony Wilson sits at second team No. 5 singles for a second straight year. Guilford's No. 1 doubles tandem of Gregory and Mason Robb earned second team honors after picking up first team laurels in 2018.

RELATED: 2018 All-ODAC Awards | All-Time All-ODAC

Secord, a first-year from Harrisonburg, Va., stepped right in as the Eagles lead player, playing each of his matches from the top flight in both singles and doubles matches. He is currently the 23rd-ranked player in the ITA South Atlantic Region poll. Secord was stellar in ODAC play, going 9-1 in top-flight singles matches. He and doubles partner Matthew Gordon went 8-2 from the top spot, earning the pair an appointment to the All-ODAC Second Team. Secord went 9-2 in all conference doubles matches. Overall, went 15-2 in singles matches, each of those coming from the No. 1 position. He and Gordon paired for an 8-4 record with all 12 matches at #1. Second finished 11-8 in doubles matches with all partners.

Perry completed his fourth year guiding the Marlins tennis programs as he serves as the Director of Tennis for both the VWC men's and women's teams.  This is the second ODAC top coaching award for the former three-time national coach of the year from his time at the University of Chicago, pairing this honor with one he earned in 2016. Perry guided the Marlins to the third seed in the ODAC Tournament with a 9-2 league mark in addition to a 15-10 overall record in dual matches. The nine ODAC wins are an improvement by two victories over the 2018 squad.

Thomas, a junior from Houma, La., stars on and off the court for Washington and Lee. In the classroom, he owns a 3.807 grade point average as an economics major. Soon to be a three-time honoree on the All-ODAC Academic Team, Thomas was honored on the W&L President's List as well as a W&L Scholar-Athlete. He was inducted the Phi Eta Sigma honor society as the nation's oldest such institution for broad-subject recognition for first-year students. On the court, Thomas adds this honor to an All-ODAC First Team selection at No. 1 doubles with Bobby Neuner and a second straight All-ODAC Second Team nod at No. 2 singles. Thomas went 8-1 in conference singles play including 4-1 at No. 2. He and Neuner were 9-0 in ODAC doubles matches powered by an 8-0 mark at No. 1. Overall, Thomas is 12-7 in singles match with 6-4 and 4-1 records at No. 2 and No. 3. He and Neuner own a 17-6 overall doubles record including 12-4 at No. 1.

For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter on Instagram.

2019 ALL-ODAC MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
ODAC Player of the Year: Canon Secord | Fy. | Bridgewater College
ODAC Coach of the Year: Marty Perry | Virginia Wesleyan University
ODAC Rookie of the Year: Canon Secord | Fy. | Bridgewater College
ODAC/Va. Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete: Mitchell Thomas | Jr. | Washington and Lee University