2016 All-GSC Men's Tennis Team announced
Birmingham, Ala. — The 16-member 2016 All-GSC Men's Tennis Team and individual annual award recipients were announced by the Gulf South Conference on Thursday.
The 2016 All-GSC Men's Tennis Team saw 16 student-athletes honored.
West Florida,
Valdosta State and
North Alabama all led the field of honorees with four each garnering laurels, while
Lee,
Delta State,
West Alabama and
Shorter all had one each make the team.
Individually, this year's team returned three First Team members and two Second Team members from a year ago. Valdosta State saw
Leo Blay (2015 First Team) and
Gereon Heitmann (2015 Second Team), while West Florida returned
Kenny Brasil (2015 First Team) and
Alex Peyrot (2014-15 First Team), the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Rounding out the list of returning honorees was Shorter's
Louis Tourtois (2015 Second Team).
GSC Player of the Year
Valdosta State Sophomore
Leo Blay, the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year, earned
2016 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year honors after going 7-3 in No. 1 singles play and, along with playing partner Xavier Pineda, was 16-2 in doubles play. The Nice, France, native went 2-1 versus nationally-ranked opponents and was 1-1 against ranked regional opponents. Blay and Pineda were a perfect 3-0 in the GSC Men's Tennis Tournament and Blay picked up a big win in the final against West Florida's Alex Peyrot (6-3, 7-6), the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Blay is currently ranked No. 8 individually by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), while he and playing partner Pineda are the No. 9-ranked doubles team.
GSC Freshman of the Year
Lee Newcomer
Eirik Groner was named the
2016 GSC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year. The Oslo, Norway, native was 12-5 in No. 1 singles play this season. He is also the first in program history to earn postseason conference laurels as this is the school's first full season of NCAA Division II eligibility.
GSC Co-Coaches of the Year
Valdosta State and
West Florida head coaches
John Hansen and
Derrick Racine were named the
2016 GSC Co-Coaches of the Year. Hansen led his squad to a 5-4 win against Racine's team in the 2016 GSC Men's Tennis Tournament Final, which marked the 11th all-time conference tournament championship for VSU. Racine guided the ITA-No. 4 Argonauts to an 18-6 (9-0 GSC) finish, while Hansen's No. 8 Flames were 15-6 (8-1) this season. UWF had its streak snapped of 51-consecutive matches against GSC opponents snapped in the final against VSU, which closed the season a winner of its last three-straight matches. Both coaches will await their respective team's seedings as the 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Tournament field will be announced on May 3.
2016 All-GSC Men's Tennis Team
FIRST TEAM
Leo Blay, Valdosta State
Alex Peyrot, West Florida
Juan Pablo-Boada, West Florida
Gereon Heitmann, Valdosta State
Pablo Borrero, West Florida
Guillaume Dechoz, North Alabama
Alexi Turc, Delta State
Eirik Groner, Lee
SECOND TEAM
Miguel Garcia, North Alabama
Fernando Rivas, Valdosta State
Caspar Schuetze, West Alabama
Max Druppel, North Alabama
Jordi Mas, Valdosta State
Kenny Brasil, West Florida
Louis Tourtios, Shorter
Brendon Millington-Herrmann, North Alabama