2022 Conference Champions
We love following the journeys of our #teamsoto Alumni, and it’s always fantastic to hear their success stories on and off the court. We are proud to stay in contact with every member of our Team after they move onto their next chapter in life.
Recently we have celebrated with some of our STA Alumni who, together with their University Teams, won their conferences in US College Tennis.
STA Alumni Dom Spicer and the Wayne State University Men’s Tennis Team won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and the Midwest Region Championship.
After compiling a 26-5 record overall, the team has finished a brilliant season as a 2022 NCAA Division II Championship Runner-Up – Congratulations Warriors!
Tom Linley and the FDU Knights won their second straight Northeast Conference Title by defeating the top-seeded University in a thrilling final (4-3).
This win guaranteed Tom and the whole team an automatic bid for the 2022 NCAA Men’s Tennis Division I Championships.
The Monmouth University Men’s Tennis Team together with STA Alumni Charlie Penman captured the 2022 MAAC Men’s Tennis Championship. This is the Hawks’ sixth consecutive MAAC title.
During the final, Charlie played at the #1 spot in Doubles, helping the team get a brilliant 4-0 win and a guaranteed spot in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Tennis Division I Championships.
The Le Moyne Dolphins won their second straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship, with STA Alumni Ethan Miller competing in both the Singles and Doubles during the Final.
Ethan recorded his 16th win of the season, helping his team get through to the Sweet 16 phase of 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Championships.
The Belmont Abbey Men’s Tennis Crusaders, including STA Alumni Will Roberts, captured the Conference Carolinas Tournament title for the first time since the Conference Carolinas achieved full Division II member status.
They finished an amazing season at the NCAA Div II Southeast Regional.
Success Stories
Anna Arkadianou
STA Alumni Anna Arkadianou is a huge part of the Florida State University Seminoles, and this year achieved a win over the No. 1 ranked Doubles pair in the USA.
Anna and Doubles partner Petra Hule defeated top ranked Elizabeth Scotty and Fiona Crawley by a 6-4 margin in the QFs of the 2022 ACC Women’s Tennis Championship.
It was great to see Anna mentioned in an article on the University’s website:
“Anna Arkadianou has excelled in the sport of tennis for as long as she can remember. From her incredible success as a junior player to competing at the famed SotoTennis Academy in the south of Spain, she has worked tirelessly on improving every aspect of her game.”
You can read the full article via this link.
The Seminoles reached the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, where Anna competed in the Singles and Doubles during the event.
Anna and her doubles partner Petra have been chosen to play in the doubles championship of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship starting just after the Team Event.
Good Luck Anna!
Finn Bass
Together with the Baylor Bears, STA Alumni Finn Bass is into the Quarter Finals of the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship. The Number 3 seeded college have had a brilliant season so far, achieving an almost perfect 29-3 record! We are excited to watch Finn play during the next matches at the event at spot #1 in Doubles and spot #4 in Singles.
Finn’s season is far for being over after the Team Event. He has been chosen to play in the Individual Doubles Championship of the NCAA Div I Men’s Tennis together with his doubles partner Sven Lah. Good Luck Finn and Sven!
Lara Schmid
The Washburn Ichabod’s and STA Alumni Lara Schmid had a fantastic season reaching the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ phase of the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship. Congratulations to Lara and all the Women’s Team for getting to this stage for just the second time in their program history.
Lara was a valuable addition to the team as she competed in most matches at spot #1 in Doubles and spot #4 in Singles.
Ryan Gaskin
Ryan’s last season at US College was one to remember! As a part of the University of North Georgia Men’s Tennis Team, he reached the Last 32 of 2022 NCAA Division II Championships. The team finished their season with a great 15-7 overall result.
Mikar Larenzo
Mikar and his Tyler Junior College Men’s Tennis Teammates have had an excellent season making it through to the final weekend of the NJCAA Division I Championship. Mikar and his doubles partner Jakob Mosvold also finished the season as NJCAA Division I National Doubles Champion!
Dom Spicer
At the beginning of the season as a ‘Redshirt Sophomore’, Dom Spicer was recognised as the Captain of the Wayne State University Team. At that position, Dom went 6-1 in league play at the No. 1 Singles spot, achieving his biggest win so far over No. 2-ranked Juan Otriz Couder (6/1 6/2).
This season he won GLIAC Player of the Week Award multiple times, and finished the season named as the League’s Player of the Year.
As Captain of his Tennis Team, Dom has lived and breathed some brilliant values, which we saw in him during his time at STA.
During one of the interviews he gave during the season, Dom highlighted the biggest responsibilities of being a Team Captain:
“I always try to compete hard and set a good example for the rest of the team.”
We couldn’t be prouder of Dom for representing himself, his Team, and STA so well.
You can watch the full interview via this link.
We can’t wait to see Dom, Tom, Charlie, Ethan, Will, Ryan and many more of our amazing Alumni back in Sotogrande for our 12 Year Anniversary Celebration this June!
SotoTennis Academy Class of 2022
In a year full of brilliant success stories so far for our Team Soto Alumni, we are also preparing to say some sad Goodbyes but big Good Lucks to STA’s Class of 2022.
This year we have had a record number of US College Signings, with 8 Full Time Players already committed to join US College Teams this fall, and 3 more Full Time Players in the process of securing their contracts:
Vlad Breazu (Romania) has signed for NCAA Div I University of Oregon Men’s Tennis Team.
Charly Egger (Austria) will be joining the Women’s Tennis Thomas Jefferson University Team.
Ollie Dando (England) has signed for Fullerton College and will be competing in the NJCAA.
Katarina Liedbeck (Sweden) will be joining the Adelphi University Women’s Tennis Team in New York City.
Daniel Hardy (England) has committed to the Men’s Tennis Team of University of Lynchburg.
Ylva Landa (Norway) will be representing the Tusculum University Pioneers in their Women’s Tennis Team.
Dhillon Virdee-Oakley (England) will be attending NCAA Division I Fordham University and playing for their Men’s Tennis Team in New York City.
George Russell (England) has signed for NCAA Div I University of Montana Men’s Tennis Team.
Adrian Gheorghe, Joe Kelt and Alin Fatu are all in the final stages of their US College applications, and we look forward to celebrating their signings soon.
Keep an eye on our social media channels for more announcements in the future!
Tennis Smart
We want to say a big thank you to our partner Sarah Borwell at Tennis Smart for the unconditional support of our Academy Players throughout their US College applications!
Tennis Smart has helped many of our Alumni connect with their beloved tennis teams and kick off their US College journeys, and stays in touch with them during their time at University.
We look forward to continuing our partnership, and to following the exciting pathways our past, present and future players take!
You can follow Tennis Smart on Instagram here and on Facebook here so you don’t miss any updates.
Thinking About US College?
Contact SotoTennis Academy here
or email us directly via info@sototennis.com
to find out how we can support your tennis journey and US College aspirations!
