ABILENE - Wildcats
Hans Hach,
Micah Hermsdorf,
Hannah Kelley,
Julia Mongin, and
Nick Plum Friday earned All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association based on its year-end rankings in singles and doubles.
Hach increased his career number of All-America citations to four as he finished 2012 ranked sixth in singles and fifth in doubles with Plum, who also was selected as the ITA South Central Region's Senior Player of the Year. Plum made tremendous strides during his two seasons at ACU, transitioning from an all-conference honorable mention in 2011 to a top-line player who won a combined 43 matches between singles and doubles.
For Mongin, the All-America designation is the fourth of her three-year career and second as a singles player, while Hermsdorf and Kelley are first-time honorees in doubles.
Mongin, who garnered a No. 2 national ranking in the ITA's final poll, helped the Wildcats reach the NCAA Championship semifinals behind an overall record of 17-1 from the No. 1 position. After losing her lone match on Feb. 12 at Lamar, Mongin rebounded with a 14-match winning streak that included wins over five regionally and three nationally ranked opponents – No. 22 Lisa Loft of Rollins, No. 41 Amanda Moberg of Cameron, and No. 3 Ioana Ivan of Lynn. Mongin also scored five triumphs over DI opponents.
Hermsdorf and Kelley capped the year with a No. 4 national ranking and overall record of 18-4. Their All-America resumé included a convincing 8-1 win over the third-ranked Lynn duo of Ivan and Sabine Krause during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship as well as a marathon 9-8 (23-21) victory against New Mexico State's Natalia Salum and Manon Sylvain. Hermsdorf and Kelley also defeated regionally ranked tandems from Incarnate Word, Northwest Missouri State, and St. Edward's during the regular season.
Hach and Plum went 15-0 playing at the No. 1 doubles position, and recorded one of the biggest wins in program history after they defeated the nationally ranked No. 4 duo of Finn Tearney and Alex Llompart of eighth-ranked Pepperdine, 8-5. The Wildcat duo also beat Baylor's team of Roberto Maytin and Kike Grangeiro, 8-5, and third-ranked Vlad Cirla and Willi Wolfer of Lynn, 8-6.
Hach played all his singles matches at the top position for the second consecutive year during which he racked up six victories over DI opposition along the way, including Colin Hoover of No. 15 Texas A&M, 4-6, 6-3, 12-10. In finishing the year at 24-4, Hach also knocked off No. 31 Andy Blair of Drury, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and No. 13 Willi Wolfer of third-ranked Lynn, 6-2, 6-3, at the NCAA Championship.
Abilene Christian assistant coach
John Walker also was honored by the ITA earlier in the week when he was named the South Central Region's Assistant Coach of the Year. Walker, who has been a fixture on the ACU courts for the past nine seasons, helped guide both teams deep into the postseason and post a combined winning percentage of .783 (47-13).
