2012 Men's Tennis All-Commonwealth Honors
Anneville, PA - The Commonwealth Conference announced the 2012 Men's Tennis All-Conference selections and Messiah freshman
Michael Brookhart was awarded as the Rookie of the Year.
Brookhart earned his spot as the top player player for the Falcons' team and was able to play exceptionally well in his rookie campaign. He finished the year with a 7-6 overall record at number one singles, including 2-3 in conference play, and 4-9 at number one doubles where he played with senior
Andrew Wismer.
Although Brookhart's numbers are not gaudy his style of play and work ethic alone prove why he is worthy of conference Rookie of the Year.
"Michael was fantastic for us this year," head men's tennis coach
Jon Arosell commented. "He came in as a freshman and played against the best players from every other college. His never quit attitude and ability to play every single match to the last point made it challenging for his opponents to win points against him."
One of the big highlights for Brookhart in his first year was an 8-6 defeat that he and Wismer handed the 2011 Commonwealth doubles champions from Kings College. In that match Brookhart showed his resilience by winning the final five games with Wismer to take the match 8-6 after being down 3-6 early on in the match.
In Messiah's final match of the season, a loss in the conference semifinals to Lebanon Valley, Brookhart played through immense pain to try and pick up a win for his team.
"I wanted Michael to come off the court after hurting his knee against LVC," Arosell said. "Michael refused to stop playing and pushed through the pain and even dove for a ball despite his aching knee. He is so tough and wants so badly to help his team in anyway possible."
Brookhart is the first Falcon to earn First-Team All-Commonwealth honors since Jansen Hein ('11) earned the honor in 2010.
