Washington and Lee's Ely, Holt Earn Major Honors

FOREST, Va. --- Virginia Wesleyan College and Washington and Lee University each took home a pair of major honors as part of the All-ODAC Men's Tennis Awards. Marlins standout Graham Wilson and head coach Marty Perry were named the ODAC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.  The Generals Zack Ely garnered ODAC Rookie of the Year laurels, while teammate Michael Holt secured his third straight ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete award.

Wilson, a senior from Newport News, Va., helped lead the Marlins to the top seed in the ODAC Tournament with a stellar spring campaign from the top flight.  He went 17-4 at #1 singles, including a 9-0 mark against ODAC foes. He lost just one set in conference play all season, but bettered that performance with a straight sets win over W&L's Jordan Krasner in their second meeting of the year in the ODAC Tournament.  He finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 19-7 singles record in all matches.  In doubles play, Wilson and Adam Rosemblaum went 15-8 this spring with a 9-1 record against league foes on the way to an All-ODAC First Team selection.  Wilson will graduate with career records of 65-25 in singles action and 57-30 in doubles competition.

Perry completed his first 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 first ODAC top coaching award for the former three-time national coach of the year from his time at the University of Chicago.  Perry guided the Marlins to the top seed in the ODAC Tournament with a 10-0 league mark in addition to a 17-7 overall record in dual matches.  That win total includes a victory over then nationally 25th-ranked Washington and Lee, marking the Marlins first win all-time over the Generals and W&L's first ODAC loss since 2009 (H-SC).

Ely, a freshman from Norwalk, Conn., adds this award to an All-ODAC Second Team nod at #4 singles.  Ely went 13-5 in singles play across several flights this spring.  He was 4-0 at #3, 6-3 at #4, and 3-2 at #6.  He went 6-1 against conference competition.  All told, Ely completed his first season in Lexington with an 18-6 singles record in all matches.  That included a 4-0 run at the Mary Washington Kickoff Classic in September, as well as a victory at #4 in the ODAC title match against Virginia Wesleyan.  In doubles play, Ely went 8-9 with six different partners throughout the campaign.

Holt, a senior from Henrico, Va., receives this award for the third consecutive year from the ODAC's sports information directors.  In the classroom, Holts boasts a 4.0 grade point average as a Mathematics and Computer Science double major.  A multi-honoree on the All-ODAC Academic, he has been honored as a Scholar-Athlete by the ITA in addition to earning Capital One Academic All-American Third Team accolades each of the past two years.  He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa (academic), Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership), Phi Mu Epsilon (mathematics), and Phi Eta Sigma national honor societies.  He has earned numerous awards and scholarships including the James D. Davidson Memorial Fund Scholarship (3x), the James McDowell Scholarship (2x), the J. Brown Goehring Sophomore Award, the Luther Seevers Birely Award, and the Washington and Lee Taylor Mathematics Scholarship.  He has future plans to work for the CIA as an applications developer.

On the court, the two-time All-American in doubles play suffered a knee injury this spring, cutting his season short.  He posted a 12-2 singles mark and 5-8 doubles record before the setback, as he entered the spring as the 47th-ranked player in the country by the ITA.  He will graduate with career records of 54-25 in singles play and 76-26 in doubles action. His doubles wins tie for the fifth-most in school history.

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.

2016 ALL-ODAC MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
ODAC Player of the Year: Graham Wilson, Sr., Virginia Wesleyan
ODAC Coach of the Year: Marty Perry, Virginia Wesleyan
ODAC Rookie of the Year: Zack Ely, Fr., Washington and Lee
ODAC/Va. Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete: Michael Holt, Sr., Washington and Lee