The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2017 NAIA Men's Tennis All-America teams Tuesday, featuring members of the four-time NAIA National Champion Georgia Gwinnett men's tennis team. The Grizzlies led the way on this year's All-America team, placing six Grizzlies on this year's list.
The NAIA All-America committee selected this year's honorees, placing 16 student-athletes on the first team while 17 others were tabbed as second team selections. Eighteen individuals also received recognition as honorable mentions.
"Words cannot simply express how proud I am for these men and receiving All-American honors," stated GGC head coach Chase Hodges. "Each player held his own weight this season and battled hard to defend our title for the fourth year in a row. Our future is definitely bright."
Kevin Konfederak, Jordan Cox, Gilad Berman, and Connor Clements represented the Grizzlies as first team All-American honorees while sophomore Rafael Coutinho was placed on the second team. Freshman Federico Herrera Duran also received an honorable mention on this year's list.
Cox, who is the NAIA's second-ranked singles player and a member of the seventh-ranked doubles duo combined with Clements, was also named the Ward-Ballinger Outstanding Player at the national championship tournament for exceptional leadership and play on and off the court at the 2017 tournament.
Hodges was named the 2017 NAIA Men's Tennis National Coach of the Year. His Grizzlies defeated Xavier, 5-0, on Saturday, May 20, to win their fourth-straight national championship in just Georgia Gwinnett's fourth season of NAIA postseason eligibility.
The Grizzlies finished the season 23-0, capping off their third undefeated season in the program's short five-year history. Georgia Gwinnett also posted a perfect 21-0 record in 2014 and a 26-0 mark in 2016. In just five seasons, the Grizzlies have collected a 97-3 record.
A complete list of the 2017 NAIA Men's Tennis All-America Teams can be accessed below:
2017 NAIA Men's Tennis All-America Teams
|
First-Team
|
School
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Brendan Aguilar
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Campbellsville (Ky.)
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Fabio Perasso
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Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
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Kevin Konfederak
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Georgia Gwinnett
|
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Jordan Cox
|
Georgia Gwinnett
|
|
Gilad Berman
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Georgia Gwinnett
|
|
Connor Clements
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Georgia Gwinnett
|
|
Bastien Sorg
|
Keiser (Fla.)
|
|
Arthur Bonnaud
|
Keiser (Fla.)
|
|
Denis Porcic
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Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
|
|
David Veliz
|
Southeastern (Fla.)
|
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Theo Baudin
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Northwestern Ohio
|
|
Luke Whalen
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Westmont (Calif.)
|
|
Vladyslav Ladygin
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William Carey (Miss.)
|
|
Oscar Barreiro
|
William Woods (Mo.)
|
|
Antoine Richard
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Xavier (La.)
|
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Catalin Fifea
|
Xavier (La.)
|
|
|
|
Second-Team
|
School
|
|
Alberto Lapiedra
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Arizona Christian
|
|
Joshua Turnquest
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Asbury (Ky.)
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|
Rafael Coutinho
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Georgia Gwinnett
|
|
John Mittvick
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Judson (Ill.)
|
|
Clement Raymond
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Keiser (Fla.)
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Julian Turosienski
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Keiser (Fla.)
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|
Ivan Solans
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Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
|
|
Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez
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McPherson (Kan.)
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|
Nishanth Rebello
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Middle Georgia State
|
|
Radu Popa
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Northwestern Ohio
|
|
Fabio Pereira
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Reinhardt (Ga.)
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|
Leonardo Urquidi
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San Diego Christian (Calif.)
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|
Illia Filanchuk
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Tabor (Kan.)
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|
Lucien Samitier
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William Carey (Miss.)
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|
Moses Michael
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Xavier (La.)
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Karan Salwan
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Xavier (La.)
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|
|
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Honorable Mention
|
School
|
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Enzo Douillac
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Arizona Christian
|
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Juan Mateus
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Bethany (Kan.)
|
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Victor Ahlbeck
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Campbellsville (Ky.)
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|
Marc Lerch
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Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
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|
Ryo Takeda
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Georgetown (Ky.)
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|
Federico Herrera Duran
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Georgia Gwinnett
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Mark Gueswell
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Hastings (Neb.)
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Kyle Rae
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Hope International
|
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Alonso Tellez
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Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
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Tomas Depiaggio
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Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
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Jesus Quesada
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Martin Methodist (Tenn.)
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Mark Simons
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Mobile (Ala.)
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Emory Deloach
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Reinhardt (Ga.)
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Aliaksandr Meliuk
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San Diego Christian (Calif.)
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|
Borja Perez
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Tennessee Wesleyan
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|
Cole Guy
|
Texas A&M-Texarkana
|
|
Philipp Sibbel
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Westmont (Calif.)
|
|
Chrisitan Barbieri
|
William Woods (Mo.)
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