MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference men’s tennis all-conference and superlative awards were announced Friday evening at the conference’s pre-tournament social. Awards were determined via vote by the conference’s head coaches. 
 
The individual awards were highlighted by Mississippi College’s Alex Benichou Blanchard as he was named GSC Freshman of the Year and GSC Player of the Year. West Florida head coach Derrick Racine meanwhile walked away with GSC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Valdosta State, GSC regular season co-champions, led all schools with five All-GSC selections, highlighted by a conference-best three first team picks. West Florida, GSC regular season co-champions, followed with four All-GSC honorees. Lee had three, Mississippi College had two, while Auburn Montgomery and West Alabama each had one. 
 
Blanchard became the first student-athlete to capture both the Player and Freshman of the Year in the same season since 2008 and fifth in the conference’s history dating back 1986. He joins Radovan Chrz (2001), Fabien Guardiola (2000), Xavier Yssel (1994) and Daryl Greenan (1987). The French-born is also the first Choctaw to receive either award after posting a 16-4 singles record while featuring at No. 1 position. In doubles play, he was a combined 8-9 while playing mostly at the No. 2 spot.
 
Racine collected his 15th GSC coaching award after leading West Florida to an 8-1 record in conference play and 16-4 record overall. The Argonauts finished the season with eight wins over ITA ranked opponents and carry a 14-match win streak into the conference tournament.
 
The GSC Men’s Tennis Championships begin Saturday with quarterfinals scheduled for 10 am Central in Montgomery, Ala. For more information, including matchups, live scoring and more, visit tournament central at gscsports.org/mten24.
 
2024 GSC Men’s Tennis All-GSC Teams & Awards
Player of the Year: Alex Benichou Blanchard, Mississippi College
Freshman of the Year: Alex Benichou Blanchard, Mississippi College
Coach of the Year: Derrick Racine, West Florida
 
First Team All-GSC
Alex Benichou Blanchard, Mississippi College
Francisco Faria, Lee*
Sebastian Rondon, West Florida#
Boruch Skierkier, Valdosta State
Takeshi Taco, Valdosta State
Luca Mack, Valdosta State*!
Wihan Van Der Merwe, Lee‡
Sebastian Sotelo, West Florida
 
Second Team All-GSC
Diego Duran, West Florida
Alvaro Saint Martin, Mississippi College
Albin Ekenros, West Florida
Adrian Contreras, AUM
Christian Wedel, Valdosta State*!@
Lucas Hammond, West Alabama#
Jordi Dasi, Lee
Jerome Iaconi, Valdosta State
 
* First Team All-GSC in 2023
# Second Team All-GSC in 2023
! First Team All-GSC in 2022
‡ Second Team All-GSC in 2022
@ First Team All-GSC in 2021