SKILLMAN, N.J. (June 8, 2011) - Coming off a record 28^th NCAA postseason appearance, the Rollins men's tennis team landed eighth in the final ITA Division II ranking of 2011.

The Tars posted a 17-9 record on the season and were 4-2 in the Sunshine State Conference, finishing third. In the SSC Tournament, Rollins won the consolation match, beating Eckerd, falling to eventual national runner-up Lynn and then taking down Saint Leo. The Tars met seventh-ranked West Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and dropped a 5-1 decision to the Argos.

Junior Jeff Morris earned his second-straight All-America nod, ranking 13^th in the final singles poll. He posted a 16-8 mark overall and went 4-2 in SSC play while also defeating a pair of ranked opponents. He was a first team All-SSC selection earlier in the year and earned SSC Player of the Year honors in 2010.

Senior Arturo Baravalle also found a spot in the rankings, coming in 43^rd. He was 14-10 on the year, also beating two ranked opponents, and went 3-3 in SSC play. The duo combined to make up the nation's 24^th-ranked doubles team.

In the south region, Rollins ranked fifth as a team while Morris was fifth and Baravalle 17^th in singles. Newcomers Sebastian Hafner (23^rd) and David Yawalkar (27^th) also ranked regionally.

In doubles, Morris and Baravalle ranked 10^th in the region while Nick Rowlands and Jason Alabaster earned a 16^th ranking.

Rollins started the season ranked No. 6 in the preseason rankings and faced five ranked opponents in its first six matches. The Tars dropped their first three, to third-ranked Armstrong Atlantic, second-ranked Valdosta State and eighth-ranked West Florida. VSU would later go on to win the NCAA Division II National Championship.

Rollins rebounded to beat 41^st-ranked Florida Tech and unranked Lake Superior State before a 6-2 setback to 10^th-ranked Concordia. Five straight wins followed to get the Tars rolling, but the streak was stopped on a 5-4 heartbreaker to NAIA second-ranked Auburn-Montgomery.

The Tars closed the season winning seven of the last nine with the only losses coming to fourth-ranked Lynn and second-ranked Barry. The final three matches were all victories over ranked Saint Leo, Florida Southern and Palm Beach Atlantic.

Rollins drew Eckerd in the first round of the SSC Tournament and dispatched the Tritons 5-0. They then ran into Lynn in the semifinals and were shutout, but bounced back with a hard-fought win over Saint Leo in the third place match.

The Tars and West Florida battled in the first round of the NCAA South Region Tournament with the Argos ending the Tars season 5-1.

Rollins will pick up the 2011-12 season in the fall with the annual C.L. Varner Memorial Invitational and the ITA Region Tournaments.