May 23, 2006

Tennessee baseball player J.P. Arencibia headlines a group of three Volunteers who garnered postseason honors from the Southeastern Conference this year. Arencibia was a first-team All-SEC selection, and he was also named to the SEC Good Works Team. Vols centerfielder Julio Borbon earned second-team All-SEC status, while shortstop Tony Delmonico was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. The All-SEC teams were voted on by the conference's 12 head coaches.

Kentucky first baseman Ryan Strieby was named SEC Player of the Year, while UK head coach John Cohen was selected as the league's Coach of the Year. Arkansas left-hander Nick Schmidt earned SEC Pitcher of the Year acclaim, and Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez was tabbed as the SEC Freshman of the Year.

Arencibia stood among the league's offensive leaders this season, ranking first in sacrifice flies (7), tied for fourth in doubles (17), tied for ninth in hits (76), 11th in batting average (.352) and tied for 11th in slugging percentage (.583). He was Tennessee's team leader in RBIs with 52 -- including 26 in SEC play -- and he tied for the team lead with 11 home runs.

Borbon excelled as UT's leadoff batter this season and was one of the SEC's top hitters. His .366 batting average ranked second in the league, and he also ranked second with 86 hits. He was third in the conference with five triples and 19 stolen bases. Borbon reeled off a team-high 26 multi-hit games this year and also put together the longest hit streak of the season by a Vol after opening the year by hitting safely in 17 straight contests.

Delmonico joined the Vols this season after graduating from Knoxville's Farragut High School in just three years. He hit .335 with 68 hits, 36 RBIs and three home runs. The switch-hitting shortstop ranked 10th in the SEC with a .360 batting average in SEC play, and he led the Vols with 26 walks on the year.

Arencibia was selected as Tennessee's representative on the 2006 SEC Baseball Good Works Team. The Miami, Fla., native has taken part in many community service projects during his time at UT, such as signing autographs to benefit Red Cross Hurricane Relief and visiting with patients at UT Medical Center and East Tennessee Children's Hospital. A 2006 team co-captain, Arencibia dressed up as Santa Claus and visited with kids for a Holiday Dinner held for several clients of the Volunteer Ministry Center. And he has also been a member of the UT Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past two years.

The SEC sponsors a Good Works Teams for all 20 sports it sponsors. The league looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to their respective community in superior service efforts.

FIVE VOLS NAMED TO SEBASEBALL.COM ALL-SEC TEAM

SEBaseball.com recently released its 2006 All-SEC team, and five Volunteers earned second-team status. Tennessee's list of honorees included catcher J.P. Arencibia, outfielder Julio Borbon, shortstop Tony Delmonico, starting pitcher Craig Cobb and relief pitcher Sean Watson.

Cobb posted a 9-3 record this season with a team-best 3.31 ERA in 111.1 innings pitched. He threw four complete games, and all of them were SEC wins. His 3.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio was also the best on the team.

Watson fashioned a 4-3 record with 11 saves and a 4.61 ERA in 29 bullpen appearances this year. He became just the second Vol ever to post at least 10 saves in a single season, and he ranks second on UT's all-time saves list with 18.