SPORTS

 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.  —  After leading Davidson to its second straight semifinal appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship, the trio of Axel Fries, Sam Kavarana and Yash Parikh were each honored Monday by the league with the release of the all-conference and all-academic teams along with the top award winners.   

The junior Fries was named to the A-10 All-First Team, the third consecutive year he’s been named to one of the all-league teams, while freshman Sam Kavarana and sophomore Yash Parikh were each named to the A-10 All-Second Team. It marks the third straight season Davidson has had at least three players honored by the league for its postseason awards.

A former A-10 Outstanding Rookie Performer of the Year and two-time all-second team pick, Fries was the Wildcats’ top singles player this year. The Stockholm, Sweden, native went 8-10 in singles and opened the season on a four-match win streak. Fries added another six victories in doubles play.

The eight wins in singles action gives the junior 40 in 63 career matches and he has another 33 in doubles in 58 career matches.

Kavarana was one of the top first-year players in the A-10, going a team-best 14-4 for the ‘Cats and holding a perfect 4-0 record vs. A-10 foes. The Charleston, S.C., native played mainly at the No. 3 singles spot, going 12-4 on the year with the other two wins coming at No. 2 and 4 positions, respectively. He ended the season on a season-high four-match win streak, including scoring a 6-0, 6-3 win in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship vs. La Salle.

The freshman was a three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week pick during the season.

A native of Tucson, Ariz., Parikh enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign as Davidson’s No. 2 singles player. He was second on the team with a 13-6 record and sported a 4-1 mark in A-10 matches. Parikh got 12 of the wins at No. 2, while collecting a win at No. 1 in a victory over North Carolina A&T. The sophomore opened the season on a four-match win streak, winning all four matches in straight sets.

Parikh, who also played 16 matches in doubles and went 7-9 on the year overall including 4-0 at No. 3 with partner Alexander Loope, collected his first career weekly award by earning player of the week, March 19.

For the fifth straight season, Davidson reached the double-digit win mark by going 13-9 with a 4-1 record vs. the A-10. It reached the semifinals for the second straight season before falling to Richmond.

The A-10 major award winners were given to Dayton’s Jordan Benjamin, Most Outstanding Performer, Rayane Stable of VCU, Most Outstanding Rookie Performer, and VCU’s Anthony Rossi, Coach of the Year.