Tennis Pair named ITA All-Americans

Two Francis Marion University men's tennis players were recently named to the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NCAA Division II All-America Team.

Sophomores Oshada Wijemanne and Dilshod Sharifi were named to the All-America squad for both singles and doubles play.

Wijemanne, a native of Colombo, Sri Lanka, was 15-2 at the No. 1 singles position and ended the year ranked ninth in Division II.  Sharifi, a native of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was 17-2 in singles play, mainly at the No. 2 spot, and was ranked 18th nationally.  Wijemanne was 6-1 in the tough Peach Belt Conference, and his two losses were both to opponents ranked 12th or higher.

Wijemanne and Sharifi combined efforts for a 16-3 doubles record at the No. 1 position and garnered a Top 10 national ranking at the end of the year.

The pair helped the Patriot men to a 16-6 record and the program's 13th national tournament invitation in the past 15 years.

Wijemanne and Sharifi become the seventh and eighth Patriot men's tennis players to earn All-America honors.   They join Kevin Taylor (2006), Mark Bube (2000, 2001, 2002), Sollie Nortje (2000, 2001), Laszlo Leiter (1999), Sam Lundkvist (1995, 1996, 1997), and Garth Thomson (1989, 1990).

     Oshada Wijemanne                        Dilshod Sharifi