NEW YORK | Make it three-time Skyline Conference Player of the Year for Farmingdale State senior star Mark Baker.
The Skyline Conference's eight men's tennis head coaches voted on the 2023 all-conference team, and the Ram standout has been selected as player of the year for a third time (previously 2019, '22) after guiding the second-seeded Rams to a championship victory over No. 1 Manhattanville in the conference final and another berth in the NCAA Tournament this spring.
Jordan Snider of Purchase is the Coach of the Year in voting by his peers, while his breakout freshman, Eli Palagatshev, has been named league Rookie of the Year. Backed by Palagatshev and Snider, the Panthers secured one of the six seeds in this spring's conference tournament, going 9-6 overall and 4-3 in Skyline play.
Barker (above) finished the season with a school-record 44th career singles victory in the championship, moving him into sole possession of the top singles wins mark all-time at FSC. He went 12-1 overall in singles at No. 1 during the regular season, including 7-0 in Skyline play. He also teamed for a 12-1 overall doubles record at the No. 1 flight, going a perfect 7-0 in conference doubles. He finished the season as the program's record holder in total singles wins, singles W/L pct., doubles wins and doubles W/L pct. and has won all of his singles matches in league play during his career on his way to his fourth first-team all-conference designation.
Palagatshev (below) had a rookie campaign to remember that saw him go 10-2 at No. 2 singles and 9-3 at No. 1 doubles in the regular season, including 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 4-2 at No. 1 doubles in conference play.
Snider (below) guided the Panthers to the Skyline Conference Championship First Round in his sixth season at the helm of the Westchester County institution, taking home his second Coach of the Year honor (previously 2019). Snider, a former Division II tennis player, and the current director of Future Stars Summer Camps – a well-known youth program in the Westchester area – earned his BA in psychology from Rollins College. He later earned his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. He played tennis at Rollins, where he was a member of the 1991 Division II National Championship team. With Snider on the roster, that team was ranked in the top 5 nationally every year. He was named captain of the team his senior year.
Baker is joined on the all-conference first team by teammates Ryan Hendel and Alan Sabovic; James Hourihan of Manhattanville; Michael Natkin of Yeshiva; and Purchase's duo of Julian Szuper and Palagatshev.
Gabby Eitkis and RJ Novak of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are on the second team, along with Ryan Freeley of St. Joseph's-Long Island; Weston Goodwin of Manhattanville; Clayton Miller of Sarah Lawrence; and Eitan Jeselsohn of Yeshiva.
2023 Skyline Conference Men's Tennis All-Conference Team
First Team
Mark Baker, Farmingdale State (Sr.; Baldwin, N.Y.)
Ryan Hendel, Farmingdale State (Fr.; North Merrick, N.Y.)
James Hourihan, Manhattanville (Jr.; Ridgefield, Conn.)
Michael Natkin, Yeshiva (Fr.; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Eli Palagatshev, Purchase (Fr.; Yonkers, N.Y.)
Julian Szuper, Purchase (Sr.; New York, N.Y.)
Alan Sabovic, Farmingdale State (Jr.; Bohemia, N.Y.)
Second Team
Gabby Eitkis, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Jr.; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Ryan Freeley, St. Joseph's-Long Island (Gr.; Stony Brook, N.Y.)
Weston Goodwin, Manhattanville (Jr.; Freeport, Maine)
Clayton Miller, Sarah Lawrence (Fr.; Morrison, Colo.)
Eitan Jeselsohn, Yeshiva (Sr.; Newton, Mass.)
RJ Novak, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (So.; Yorktown, Va.)
Player of the Year: Mark Baker, Farmingdale State
Rookie of the Year: Eli Palagatshev, Purchase
Coach of the Year: Jordan Snider, Purchase (Sixth Season)