Pathanjali, Maarschalk earn All-MAC honors
May 2, 2002
CLEVELAND -- A pair of Western Michigan University men's tennis players were named to the All-Mid-American Conference teams. The announcement was made by the league office in Cleveland.
Sophomore Ravishankar Pathanjali earned first team honors, while junior Ryan Maarschalk was named to the second team.
Pathanjali, a native of Tamilnadu, India, avoided the sophomore jinx with a solid campaign. He led WMU in overall wins (45), doubles wins (23) and finished second on the team in singles wins (22) despite playing from the No. 1 singles and doubles position for most of the season. The MAC Newcomer of the Year in 2001, Pathanjali did not miss a match during the entire season. He earned his 100th career win at this year's MAC tournament, and he already ranks No. 31 on the Western Michigan all-time wins list with 101 victories. He went 4-0 in the MAC tournament this year, improving his career record in the tournament to 8-0. Pathanjali earned second-team All-MAC honors as a freshman. He has a 3.44 overall GPA, and earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall 2001 semester.
Maarschalk came back from off-season knee surgery to become a mainstay in the Bronco lineup. The Harare, Zimbabwe, native played mostly No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles this year. He finished with 40 wins during this season, good for second on the team. Maarschalk also had a strong MAC tournament, finishing the event with a 3-1 overall record. He currently ranks No. 26 on the WMU all-time wins list with 112 career victories. Earlier this month, Maarschalk was named the 2001-02 Western Michigan Male Scholar Athlete, honoring the Bronco student-athlete with the highest overall GPA. He maintains a 3.91 overall GPA, and also earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall 2001 semester.
Western Michigan finished the season with a 13-13 overall record. WMU went 3-2 in the MAC, good for third place overall. The Broncos were eliminated in the MAC tournament by eventual tournament champion Ball State, 4-3, in the semifinals.
Media contact: Travis McCurdy, 269 387-3221, travis.mccurdy@wmich.edu