NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2018-19 men's tennis postseason honors Wednesday, headlined by Coastal Carolina Luiz Faria named Player of the Year, South Alabama junior Loic Cloes named Player to Watch, Georgia Southern freshman Antonio Muniz named Freshman of the Year, Georgia State sophomore Vazha Shubladze named Newcomer of the Year and Coastal Carolina head coach Chris Powers named Coach of the Year.
 
These awards, along with the All-Sun Belt first and second teams, were voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. 
 
Faria was the only player in the Sun Belt this season to go unbeaten at the No. 1 position in conference matches with a 5-0 record. That record is also tied for first among Sun Belt players at all positions in conference play. His 11 singles wins at No. 1 tied for the most in the league this spring. An All-Sun Belt first-team pick in singles, Faria also excelled in doubles with a 4-1 record in conference matches playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.
 
Cloes closed the spring season on a 12-match winning streak. He helped the Jags to a 15-6 record with an 11-4 record at No. 3 singles and a perfect 4-0 record at No. 2 singles. Cloes earned 11 singles wins in straight sets. The All-Sun Belt first-team selection went a perfect 5-0 in singles in conference play. Ranked nationally in doubles throughout the spring, he and junior Clement Marzol earned All-Sun Belt first-team honors for the second-straight year.
 
Muniz made an immediate impact for Georgia Southern in his first season, leading the team in singles and doubles wins. After dropping his first collegiate match at No. 20 Florida State, he reeled off seven-straight singles wins. Muniz was a strong addition to the Eagles' doubles lineup as well, compiling a combined 9-6 record at No. 1.
 
Shubladze has enjoyed success in his first season at Georgia State. He holds a 9-6 singles record this spring. Shubladze owns a 6-3 mark at No. 3 singles, including wins over nationally ranked opponents. He has a 6-2 singles record in his last 10 matches.
 
Powers guided Coastal Carolina to the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Men's Tennis Championship. His Chanticleers were the only conference team to defeat regular-season champion and No. 1 seed Georgia State in the regular season with a 4-0 win on April 6.
 
South Alabama (three singles players and one doubles team) and UTA (two singles players and two doubles teams) led the way in All-Sun Belt honors.
 
The 2019 Sun Belt Men's Tennis Championship begins on Friday, April 19 and concludes on Sunday, April 21 at the Peachtree City Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga. Live coverage of Friday's quarterfinal matches can be heard on RadioTennis.com. The semifinal and championship matches are set for live coverage on ESPN+, available online and via the WatchESPN app. Live results are available on SunBeltSports.org.
 
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2018-19 SUN BELT MEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
All-Sun Belt First Team
Singles
Luiz Faria, Coastal Carolina (Sr., Joinville, Brazil)
Jan Galka, Louisiana (Fr., Warsaw, Poland)
Loic Cloes, South Alabama (Jr., Oreye, Belgium)
Guanarteme Nuez, UTA (Sr., Las Palmas, Spain)
Enrique Pardo, UTA (Sr., Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain)
Pelayo Antuña, Troy (So., Gijón, Spain)
 
Doubles
Giles Hussey (Sr., Swindon, England) and Jack MacFarlane (Sr., Ruislip, England), Georgia State
Loic Cloes (Jr., Oreye, Belgium) and Clement Marzol (Jr., Toulouse, France), South Alabama
Guanarteme Nuez (Sr., Las Palmas, Spain) and Mauricio Rio (Sr., Irapuato, Mexico), UTA
 
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Singles
Antonio Muniz, Georgia Southern (Fr., Barcelona, Spain)
Giles Hussey, Georgia State (Sr., Swindon, England)
Vazha Shubladze, Georgia State (So., Tbilisi, Georgia)
Jamie Fraser, Louisiana (Jr., Sydney, Australia)
Clement Marzol, South Alabama (Jr., Toulouse, France)
Sacha Modica, South Alabama (Sr., London, England)
Oskar Michalek, Troy (Jr., Swinoujscie, Poland)
 
Doubles
Luiz Faria (Sr., Joinville, Brazil) and Lawrence Perrin (Jr., Epsom, England), Coastal Carolina
Arthur Libaud (Sr., Les Chenevieres, France) and Pearse Dolan (Jr., Sydney, Australia), Louisiana
Enrique Pardo (Sr., Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) and Eduard Simo (So., Barcelona, Spain), UTA
 
Sun Belt Player of the Year
Luiz Faria, Coastal Carolina (Sr., Joinville, Brazil)
 
Sun Belt Player to Watch
Loic Cloes, South Alabama (Jr., Oreye, Belgium)
 
Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Antonio Muniz, Georgia Southern (Fr., Barcelona, Spain)
 
Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
Vazha Shubladze, Georgia State (So., Tbilisi, Georgia)
 
Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Chris Powers, Coastal Carolina