Christoph 1st team Academic All-American!

As a capstone to a stellar academic and athletic career, Whitman College tennis player Christoph Fuchs has earned Academic All-America First-Team honors.

Christoph Fuchs

Fuchs, a four-year mainstay in the Whitman tennis lineup, graduated magna cum laude in late May with honors in his biology major.

The Academic All-America first, second and third teams, sponsored byESPN The Magazine, are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Fuchs, who was part of three Northwest Conference (NWC) title teams at Whitman, is one of 17 student athletes voted to the men's At-Large Team in the College Division.

The At-Large Team represents a number of sports, including tennis, swimming and golf, while the College Division includes all schools affiliated with NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA.

Whitman students have earned Academic All-America honors 10 times since the school began submitting nominations in 2003. Fuchs is the first Whitman athlete, however, to receive first-team recognition at the national level.

More than 30 Whitman athletes have received all-district honors in recent years.

Fuchs travels to Houston, Texas, later this summer to begin medical school studies at the Baylor College of Medicine, which is part of the Texas Medical Center, the largest such center in the world.

In his four seasons at Whitman, Fuchs was part of a men's tennis squad that posted an overall win-loss record of 90-27, which included a 64-0 regular season mark against NWC teams. Whitman advanced to the NCAA Division III national championship tournament in each of those four seasons.

Fuchs made his share of contributions on the tennis courts, winning more than 100 career matches in singles and doubles.

"I want to say how thankful I am to my coach (Jeff Northam), teammates, Whitman athletics, and the Whitman faculty for a wonderful four years on the court and in the classroom," Fuchs said Monday. "I also want to say a special thank-you to my parents who sacrificed so much to help me achieve my goals."

Valerie Fuchs and Dr. Axel Fuchs, who live in La Center, Wash., have home schooled each of their four children. Dr. Fuchs, a graduate of the medical school at Germany's University of Dusseldorf, is an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Christoph Fuchs

Following his sophomore year at Whitman, Fuchs spent a summer as a volunteer nurse's aide at a hospital in Offenburg, Germany. His work ranged from basic patient care to making rounds with doctors and observing surgeries.

A year later, Fuchs received funding from the Whitman Undergraduate Research program to assist with breast cancer research at the University of Lousiville's Brown Cancer Center. His research that summer was the basis for his honors thesis on estrogen receptor protein modifications.

Fuchs was elected a year ago to Phi Beta Kappa, the national academic honor society. While at Whitman, he volunteered at a local AIDS clinic and for the Friends of Walla Walla, a group that mentors at-risk youth.

Last month, Fuchs was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Blue Mountain Sports Awards, an awards program for high school and college student athletes in the Walla Walla Valley. The awards program is run by the Walla Walla Union-Bulletinnewspaper.

Fuchs was eligible for the Academic All-America Team based on his election earlier this spring to the Academic All-District First Team for 11 western states and British Columbia.

A year ago, following his junior season, Fuchs earned Academic All-District recognition and then was voted to the Academic All-America Third Team.

Fuchs is the second Whitman tennis player to earn Academic All-America honors in back-to-year years.Brad Changstrom '05 earned third-team recognition as a junior and senior.

Last fall, following the most prolific soccer scoring season at Whitman in two decades, seniorCorina Gabbert was voted to the Academic All-America Second Team.

Whitman is the top-ranked liberal arts and sciences college in the Northwest, according to the annual U.S. News and World Report survey of colleges and universities.

Since starting its program in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student athletes in all NCAA championship sports.

Congratulations to Charlie Larson

Hardy congratulations to Whitman tennis alumni Charlie Larson ('99) for receiving his PhD in Biochemistry from Washington State University! Charlie reports that he has "decided to accept a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, MT. I am pretty excited to take the next step in my career and to move out of Pullman. More importantly, RML is one of the top infectious disease labs in the country/world. I’ll be working with Bob Heinzen on Coxiella burnetti (a pathogenic bacteria)".

Now that Charlie is in Hamilton (a great fly fishing area) he might get some unannounced visits from his old college coach!

Reid goes to Dartmouth Medical School!

I recently received word that Reid Bennett '09 was accepted to Dartmouth Medical school! I hate to sound like a proud parent but that is the third Whitman tennis alumni entering medical school this year -- Christoph Fuchs at Baylor, Thomas Roston at University of British Columbia, and Reid at Dartmouth.

Good luck and congratulations to all three!

Solomon falls in National Tournament

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A lost service game early in the first set proved costly as Whitman College senior Matt Solomon dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Williams College senior Nick Lebedoff in this morning's opening round of the NCAA Division III National Tennis Singles Championship Tournament.

The 32-player singles tournament, taking place at Ohio's Oberlin College, continues through Sunday.


Matt Solomon
"It was a thrill to be invited to this tournament, but I definitely didn't play my best today," Solomon said. "This obviously wasn't the outcome I was expecting and wanted."

The difference in the first set came early, when Solomon dropped his first service game. After that the two players held serve until Lebedoff finished off his 6-4 first-set victory.

"I kept trying to change tactics to get back into the match, but I felt a little off my game the whole way," Solomon said. "I felt good from a physical standpoint, but I wasn't hitting through the ball as well as I can."

Lebedoff advances to play a second-round match today against the survivor of a first-round match between Chris Goodwin (Emory University) and Scott Sundstrom (Luther College).

The tournament continues Saturday with quarterfinal and semifinal matches. The championship finale is set for Sunday.

Solomon, a senior, is one of seven West Coast players -- but the only one from the Pacific Northwest -- invited to the singles championship. Invitations were issued to players based on win-loss records, rankings and strength of opposition.

Solomon, who has played No. 1 singles for Whitman since his sophomore season, led Whitman to a third consecutive Northwest Conference title this spring. He is a two-time NWC Player of the Year and was named the 2010 winner of Whitman's R.V. Borleske Trophy, which is presented annually to the top male athlete on campus.

"What a great season and great career Matt has had," Whitman coach Jeff Northam said. "He's had a huge impact on our team and athletic program in general.

"Our men's tennis program is stronger right now than it's ever been in my many years of coaching, and Matt is a big reason why that's the case."

Solomon is the first Whitman player to compete in the national singles championships since May of 2006, when Steven Ly got an invite to cap his junior season.

Tim Mullin made the national singles tournament in both 2001 and 2002. Mullin and Eric Bartee competed in the doubles championship bracket in 2000.

Solomon got his senior season off to a strong start last fall by winning the ITA's Pacific Northwest NCAA Division III singles title for a third consecutive season. He advanced to the ITA's National Small College Championships, where he won two of his four matches against other regional champs.

Solomon, who graduated from Whitman last Sunday with a degree in economics, starts work next Tuesday with IMG, the world's premier and most diversified sports, entertainment and media company.

Solomon, who is from Los Altos, Calif., will be working in IMG's San Francisco office, helping prepare for 40th annual Bank of the West Classic, which starts July 26 at Stanford University. The classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and the first stop of the Olympus U.S. Open Series.

Fuchs Named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic Team!

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Christoph Fuchs, a graduating senior on the Whitman College men's tennis team, has been voted for a second consecutive year to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District At-Large First Team.


Christoph Fuchs
Fuchs, who helped Whitman win its third straight Northwest Conference (NWC) title earlier this spring, is one 10 athletes chosen for the men's at-large team in the College Division of District VIII.

The district includes all NCAA Div. II/Div. III and NAIA schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, as well as British Columbia.

The at-large teams represent student athletes in a variety of sports, including golf, skiing, gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, lacrosse and tennis.

Players on all-district at-large teams from around the nation are now eligible for election to the Academic All-America team. Fuchs was voted to the All-America Second Team a year ago.

The College Sports Information Directors of America administers the nominating and voting process for the Academic All-America program, which is in its 59th year and has honored about 15,000 students at all levels for all recognized NCAA sports.

Fuchs, a member of the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society, graduates from Whitman this Sunday and begins medical school studies later this summer at the Baylor College of Medicine. He and three siblings were home schooled by their parents, Valerie and Dr. Alex Fuchs of La Center, Wash.


Christoph Fuchs at Baylor College of Medicine
Fuchs is one of seven graduating seniors on the men's tennis team who sailed through four seasons at Whitman without losing a single regular season match to a Northwest Conference team. Whitman's win-loss record during those four seasons was 64-0.

Fuchs was a consistent winner in his time at Whitman, collecting more than 100 victories in singles and doubles.

A biology major with a minor in chemistry, Fuchs received Whitman Undergraduate Research funding two summers ago to work on breast cancer research at the University of Louisville’s Brown Cancer Center. His research that summer was the basis of his honors thesis on estrogen receptor protein modifications.

In the summer of 2007, Fuchs was a volunteer nurse's aide at a hospital in Offenburg, Germany, as part of a program required of German students for medical school eligibility. Fuchs, who is fluent in German, handled duties ranging from feeding patients and taking vital signs to shadowing physicians on their rounds and assisting with surgeries.

While at Whitman, Fuch has been a volunteer for a local AIDS clinic as well as the Friends of Walla Walla, which mentors at-risk youth.

Earlier this week, Fuchs was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Blue Mountain Sports Awards, an awards program for high school and college student-athletes in the Walla Walla Valley. The awards program is run by the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper.

Whitman is the top liberal arts & sciences college in the Northwest, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report survey of colleges and universities.

Congratulations Thomas Roston!

Graduating senior Thomas Roston recently received notice that he was selected to enter the University of British Columbia Medical school! Thomas is very excited to be going back home (Vancouver, BC) to start the next part of his education.

With Christoph Fuchs going to Baylor to this fall that means that two members of the Whitman tennis team class of 2010 will be entering Medical school this fall. It is rare for students to gain admission to medical school immediately upon graduation. Most students end up working for a few years, improving their resume, and MCAT scores before gaining admission to Medical School. It speaks volumes of Thomas's and Christoph's dedication and hard work to get admitted immediately after graduation.

Big congratulations!

Matt Solomon -- R.V. Borleske award!

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Matt Solomon, a two-time Northwest Conference Player of the Year in men's tennis, is the 2010 winner of the R.V. Borleske Trophy, which is presented annually to the top male athlete at Whitman College.

The trophy, which is awarded by a vote of the Whitman coaching staff, recognizes athletic ability and accomplishments, leadership and sportsmanship qualities, and contributions to the campus as a whole.

Matt Solomon

Solomon, playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, led Whitman to its third straight Northwest Conference title this spring, and to its fourth consecutive 16-0 NWC regular season.

Ranked No. 22 nationally in NCAA Division III, Whitman advanced to the national championship tournament for the fourth time in as many years. A loss in the regional semifinals to No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ended Whitman's season with a 20-5 record.

Solomon, however, has as at least one more match left in his college career. He is one of 32 players from around the country invited to play in the NCAA DIII national singles tournament, slated for late this month in Oberlin, Ohio. He is the first Whitman player to make the singles tournament since Steven Ly in 2006.

Solomon got his senior year off to a strong start last September when he won his third straight singles titles at the ITA's Pacific Northwest Fall Tournament. Despite playing with a torn stomach muscle, he then split four matches at the national small college championships, placing seventh and earning ITA All-America honors in singles for a third time.

As a three-time winner of the ITA's PNW doubles title, Solomon is also a three-time ITA All-American in doubles.

After a slow start early this semester, Solomon posted a 12-5 singles record in spring dual matches, which included an 8-2 record against NWC opponents. His only losses in conference came early in the season and were later avenged.

In non-conference play, Solomon split a pair of matches with UC-Santa Cruz No. 1 Bryan Pybas, and lost close decisions to Tommy Meyer and Andrew Giuffrida, the No. 1 players at Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran, respectively.

Solomon was named NWC Player of the Week three times during the spring season. His latest Player-of-the-Year award, announced at the NWC post-season tournament in April, makes him only the second Whitman player to twice take home the honor.

Whitman's Tim Mullin was a two-time winner earlier this decade. The NWC began giving the award in the early 1990s.

Solomon, who earned All-NWC Second-Team honors as a freshman, was named NWC Player of the Year for the first time at the end of his sophomore season. He took a one-semester leave of absence from Whitman last spring and helped Boise State make the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division I team championships.

Matt Solomon

"As a player Matt is probably Whitman's most decorated male athlete of the past 25 years, but he is also one of the most outstanding young men to ever play tennis here," Whitman tennis coachJeff Northam says.

"He obviously had a tremendous impact on the courts, but the leadership he gave our team was just as important."

Solomon, an economics major, is a "serious student who was recently named to the NWC's Scholar-Athlete Team," Northam adds. "He's been very involved on campus, contributing time to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, his fraternity, the school newspaper and the Whitman Investment Club. He also took time from his busy schedule to mentor students at a local elementary school."

"Matt has been a very special part of the Whitman community," Northam says. "I can think of no other player who embodies all the characteristics represented by the Borleske Trophy. I just wish Matt could stay at Whitman for four more years to help mentor and inspire his teammates."

Solomon, a graduate of St. Stephen's Episcoal School in Austin, Texas, is the son of Joanand Murray Solomon of Los Gatos, Calif.

The Borleske Trophy honors Raymond V. Borleske, who achieved legendary status as an athlete and later as a coach at Whitman during the first half of the 20th century. He starred on Whitman's football and baseball teams, and he was the first football player from the Northwest to be recognized by Walter Camp's Spaulding Football Guide.

After graduating from Whitman and earning a law degree, Borleske returned to campus in 1915 to begin a coaching career that continued until 1947.

For a complete listing of past Borleske Trophy winners, please click here.