Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Macon, Ga. -- Campbell's Artoym Starkov assisted the Fighting Camels to a 3-0 team record this past week, with a personal overall record of 4-0, en route to being named the conferences Player of the Week, league officials announced today.

The Philadelphia, Penn., native won matches at No. 1 singles, No. 2 singles, No. 1 doubles and No. 2 doubles for a well-rounded perfect effort on the week. Starkov, a senior sports management major, earned both of his No. 2 spot (singles and doubles) wins on Feb. 20, defeating High Point's Ben Deloume in singles (6-4, 4-6, 6-2) after already taking down Deloume and Julien Antraygues (8-3) with doubles partner Vasja Gorjup.

Starkov moved up to the No. 1 spot for Saturday's double-header against North Carolina Central and Winston-Salem State. Against Winston-Salem he again joined Gorjup to win their doubles set (8-1) before facing Andres Perez of North Carolina Central in the second match. Starkov handed Perez the loss by taking the first two sets.

The award is the first of its kind for Starkov and the first for a Campbell student-athlete since March 15, 2005 (Florent Wilpotte). Combined, Starkov's honor marks just the fourth time the award has been given to a Campbell student-athlete. Jiri Beranek won the award in back-to-back weeks to begin the 2005 season.

The Atlantic Sun Player of the Week is announced every Tuesday during the 2007 tennis season.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.

Other Top Performers:

• Alex Ahlgren, ETSU
[So. -- Tyreso, Sweden -- Business]
Ahlgren defeated Leonard Gomes of UNF (6-4, 6-0) in the No. 6 singles spot and also teamed with Travis Sandlant in doubles to defeat the Ospreys Ben's Smith and Matias Sigal (8-1).

• Mike Sherman, Campbell
[Sr. -- Richardson, Texas -- Computer Engineering]
Sifre went 3-1 on the week, including a 2-0 mark at No. 1 singles for Campbell. He posted a 6-4, 6-1 win against Coastal's Simon Taylor and a 6-3, 6-0 win against Mount Olive's Guilherme Serra. Sifre also went 2-1 at No. 1 doubles.