NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State duo of seniors Arsenio Culver and Ben Marks wrapped up their careers with a No. 9 ranking in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region rankings released by the organization recently.

Culver and Marks were one of 10 doubles tandems ranked by the ITA for the Atlantic Region, which covers all of Virginia up through parts of Pennsylvania. It is believed to be the first time a Norfolk State duo earned a top-10 regional ranking.

"This is great honor for Ben and Arsenio," said head coach Nate Feldman. "The Atlantic Region is incredibly tough and has some of the best teams in the country. Finishing in the top 10 is indicative of all the hard work these two players put in during their last year. It shows that the Spartan tennis program is only going to continue to grow and get stronger."

The duo finished the year with a 15-2 record together, including 3-1 in MEAC play. They picked up wins over opponents from such teams as Kennesaw State, Old Dominion, Longwood, Delaware, Liberty, LaSalle and Richmond as well as MEAC teams Florida A&M, North Carolina Central, Bethune-Cookman and Morgan State throughout the year.

Their losses this season came at the hands of Conner Sherwood and Sam Wells of Wake Forest and Peteris Vinogradous and Artemiy Nikitin of South Carolina State. Culver finished with an 18-2 overall doubles record on the year, while Marks stood 16-3.

Culver earned a No. 20 ranking in singles at the end of his sophomore season in June of 2010. He was a three-time first-team All-MEAC performer from 2010-12. Marks earned all-conference second-team honors in 2011.