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UB Men's Tennis Announces Awards

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men’s tennis squad announced its team awards for the 2007-08 season. Head coach Sherif Zaher made the following presentations: Marcelo Mazzetto (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Carlos Magno) earned the Most Improved Player Award; Octavian Stane (Toronto, Ontario/Leaside) received the Coaches’ Award; and Nikesh Singh Panthlia (George Town, Malaysia/BMK Penang Free School) was named Most Outstanding for the second consecutive season.

Marcelo Mazzetto

The Most Improved Player Award is presented to the student-athlete who has made the greatest stride or improvement in his performance from the previous season or from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Mazzetto completed his freshman season with a 15-16 singles record and a 10-18 doubles mark. The 15 singles wins tied him for the second most on the team. Mazzetto saw most of his singles action in the number two slot, although he did compete at number one in several matches. He scored his final singles win of the regular season in dramatic fashion as he defeated Vincennes' Jaime Esteban in three sets winning the third-set super-tiebreaker, 12-10.

Octavian Stane

The Coaches’ Award is selected by the head coach and is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the team virtues as defined by the head coach. The recipient is one who stands out in dedication, commitment, unselfishness and enthusiasm towards helping the team improve. Stane, a junior, returned to campus after playing on the futures tour during the fall. In the spring season, he picked up eight singles wins and five doubles triumphs. Stane was instrumental in UB's 6-0 win over Robert Morris with his three-set victory against Mateusz Wodzinski, rallying from a set down to take the final two sets.

Nikesh Singh Panthlia

The Most Outstanding Award is given to the student-athlete who makes the most significant contribution to the accomplishments of the team through his skills and leadership. Singh Panthlia, a senior who also earned All-MAC Second Team honors for the second straight year, led the Bulls with a 24-10 singles record and an 18-16 doubles mark in 2007-08. The 24 singles wins tied him with current UB assistant coach Nick Zieziula for the second-most victories in one season. Singh Panthlia collected his 24th win in his final collegiate match, scoring a 6-4, 6-3 win over Toledo’s Chris Clark, another All-MAC Second Team selection, in UB’s first round loss to the Rockets in the Mid-American Conference Championships. Singh Panthlia joined the Bulls in the 2005-06 season after spending his freshman campaign at the University of South Carolina-Aiken. In three seasons at UB, he posted an overall singles and doubles record of 111-74 for a .600 winning percentage. The 111 wins are third on UB’s all-time victory total behind Zieziula (134) and Mike Rockman (126). His 62 singles wins rank him third while his 49 doubles victories places him fifth in that category.

The Bulls completed their season with a 6-17 overall record and were 0-5 in MAC competition. The Bulls were eliminated by Toledo, 5-1, in the first round of the MAC Championships.