2019-20 Sun Belt Men’s Tennis News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats
AROUND #SUNBELTTEN
• The 2019-20 season for Sun Belt Conference men's tennis was canceled on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The season ended before playing conference matches.
• Troy (11-4) closed the spring season on a conference-best six-match winning streak.
• Troy freshman Carles Anton boasted the best overall singles winning percentage (19-3, .864) and tied with senior Oskar Michalek for the best singles record in dual match play (14-1, .933). Anton was undefeated (8-0) at No. 3 singles. He and junior Pelayo Antuña had the best overall doubles record (14-2) in the Sun Belt with a league-best 8-1 mark at the No. 2 spot.
• UTA (9-3) capped its season ranked 85th in the final Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Men's National Rankings. The Mavericks closed on a four-match winning streak and a 72 percent winning percentage in overall singles matches. With the ranking, UTA qualifies for the 2021 ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Mavericks' men's and women's teams closed the season both ranked and qualified for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend for the first time in school history.
• Louisiana (13-3) led the league in dual match wins, highlighted by two wins over two reigning conference champions in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland) and Northern Arizona (Big Sky).
• Georgia Southern junior Pascal Wagemaker posted the most singles wins at one position in dual matches with a 12-1 mark at the No. 3 spot.
• In the ITA individual rankings released on March 3, the Sun Belt had three singles players ranked in Diaz at 110th, Georgia State junior Vazha Shubladze at 123rd and Troy senior Oskar Michalek at 125th and Georgia State junior Andrei Duarte and sophomore Roberts Grinvalds ranked 28th in doubles.
• Duarte and Grinvalds achieved the highest ITA doubles ranking in school history. The No. 28 ranking surpasses the previous high of No. 38 set by Victor Valente and Lucas Santa Ana in 2013. The Panthers duo own Duarte and Grinvalds finished with 10-5 overall record in 2019-20, including a 5-3 spring record and a ranked win over then-No. 47 Francois Musitelli and Jannik Giesse of Old Dominion in the season opener. Shubladze jumped into the singles rankings on the strength of three nationally-ranked victories.
• Michalek was the first Trojan, individual or team, since 2016 to earn an ITA national ranking. He was the first individual Trojan to earn an ITA national singles ranking since Feb. 10, 2016, when Daniel Bustamante made his ranking debut at No. 114. Michalek sported a 14-1 in dual match record in singles and a 21-4 overall singles record. His 21 singles wins topped the Sun Belt.
• Diaz earned the first ITA national ranking of his career. He did not drop a singles match (8-0) in the spring primarily at the No. 1 or No. 2 position. Including the fall, Diaz was 15-4 with two ranked wins. He was 7-1 in the spring and 10-3 overall in doubles.
• Appalachian State (3-11) received honorable mention recognition for the
ITA Carolina Region Community Service Award.
• Coastal Carolina head coach Chris Powers earned his 200th career coaching victory in the Chanticleers' dramatic 4-3 win over Presbyterian on Feb. 9. Powers is the winningest head coach in the program's history.
2020 Weekly Award Winners
January 22: Ivailo Keremedchiev, Louisiana
January 29: Pascal Wagemaker, Georgia Southern
February 5: Alexandros Roumpis, Georgia Southern
February 12: Murphy McCullough, Georgia Southern
February 19: Jan Galka, Louisiana
February 26: Carles Anton, Troy
March 4: Pelayo Antuña, Troy
March 11: Quentin Coulaud, Georgia State