By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

INDIANAPOLIS (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - A trio of Green Bay men's tennis players received all-league honors Friday night at the 2012 Horizon League Tennis Awards Banquet at the Riverwalk Banquet Center in Indianapolis. After a voting by the league's coaches, senior Paul Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and freshman Michael Tenzer (Neuried, Germany) were selected to the All-Horizon League First Team, while junior Erik Finkenbrink (Duelman, Germany) was named to the second team.

Green Bay was the only school to land more than one player on the first team, and the three total all-league selections tied Wright State for the most from one school.

Swanson and Tenzer are the first Phoenix players to earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors since Tim Prudlow was selected in 2007. It also marks the first time Green Bay has placed two on the first team since 2003 (Ben Davis and Robert Shamilikian).

Swanson earns first-team honors for the first time in his standout career after being named to the second team in each of the past three seasons. He is the first Phoenix player since Davis (2001-04) to earn all-conference honors in each of his four years.

The senior captain posted a 17-6 overall singles record during the regular season, including a 6-1 mark against league opponents at the No. 1 spot. Swanson was named Horizon League Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks in April (April 3, April 10) after leading the Phoenix to a 4-0 start in conference play while posting a 4-0 singles record in wins against UIC, Valparaiso, Youngstown State and Cleveland State.

Swanson finished second in the all-league voting to Wright State senior Martin Arguello, who was named Horizon League Player of the Year. Swanson's lone conference loss of the season came to Arguello, a three-setter (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) on April 14 when the Phoenix dropped its only league match (4-3) to the top-seeded Raiders (18-4, 7-0).

Tenzer currently owns a 16-6 singles record while playing the majority of the year at the No. 2 spot. The newcomer picked up player of the week honors on Feb. 22 after going a combined 7-0 in singles and doubles action in a quartet of Green Bay victories. Tenzer also teamed up with fellow freshman Felix Goepper (Seelbach, Germany) to form Green Bay's potent No. 2 doubles team, which went 13-4 overall (8-0 at No. 2) and received the program's first national doubles ranking (No. 61) in mid-March.

Finkenbrink was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team for the second straight season after posting a combined 13-1 record in conference play (6-1 singles, 7-0 doubles). The junior had a team-high 19 doubles victories on the year, going 13-1 at the No. 1 spot, including 12-1 with classmate Craig Cox (Surrey, England). In singles, Finkenbrink went 14-6 overall, sharing time in the top three spots while going 8-2 at No. 3 in his final 10 matches.

The Phoenix finished the regular season with a school-record 17 wins (17-6, 6-1 Horizon League), earning the No. 2 seed in this weekend's Horizon League Championships. Green Bay received a bye into the semifinals where it will play sixth-seeded Butler on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT at IRC East in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs upset third-seeded Youngstown State 4-2 on Friday afternoon, marking the first time in Horizon League history that a No. 6 seed beat a No. 3 seed.

Green Bay is looking to win its first Horizon League tournament title and earn the school's first berth into the NCAA Tournament. 

2012 Horizon league Men's Tennis Awards
Player of the Year
Martin Arguello, Wright State                     

Newcomer of the Year
Austin Woldmoe, Butler                              

Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award
Adam Whitmer, Valparaiso                         

Coach of the Year
Sean McCaffrey, Wright State                     

Men's All-League Teams
First Team
Martin Arguello, Wright State
Paul Swanson, Green Bay
Yannick Goossens, Cleveland State
Austin Woldmoe, Butler
Silviu Mistreanu, Youngstown State
Michael Tenzer, Green Bay

Second Team
James Li, UIC
Lauri Makikalli, Wright State
Cesar Serrano Escobar, Detroit
Erik Finkenbrink, Green Bay
Matt Kuelker, Cleveland State
Hayden Joblin, Wright State

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