2019 SEC Men's Tennis Awards announced

Birmingham, Ala. - The 2019 men's tennis first and second team All-SEC, All-Freshman team, and the yearly awards have been announced by the conference office.

Florida's Bryan Shelton was named SEC Coach of the Year after leading the Gators to a current 21-3 record. The Gators were crowned the SEC Champion after going 12-0 in conference play.

Mississippi State's Nuno Borges was named Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. He's the only men's tennis player to ever earn the honor three times. Borges is currently ranked second after he helped the Bulldogs win their second consecutive SEC Tournament title and was named SEC Tournament MVP after clinching the Bulldogs' victory over Tennessee in the final. He went a perfect 23-0 in dual matches and 12-0 in SEC play. In conference play, Borges only dropped one set in those 12 matches, while only surrendering five sets total in dual match play. In doubles, he and partner Strahinja Rakic went 15-6 this season with an impressive 9-2 mark in conference action at the No. 1 position.

Borges was also named Scholar-Athlete of the year for men's tennis. It's the second consecutive season he's earned the honor. Since arriving at MSU in the spring of 2016, he has achieved a 3.50 GPA or higher each semester. Borges is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete.

Florida's Sam Riffice is the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year. He went 17-5 in dual matches, going 10-0 in conference play. In doubles, he and partner Oliver Crawford currently hold a 12-4 dual record with a 5-3 SEC record.

A complete list of the awards follows and ties were not broken leading to 14-member All-SEC First-Team.

First Team All-SEC
Mazen Osama, Alabama
Edson Ortiz, Alabama
Oliver Crawford, Florida
Emil Reinberg, Georgia
Jan Zielinski, Georgia
Ryo Matsumura, Kentucky
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Giovanni Oradini, Mississippi State
Strahinja Rakic, Mississippi State
Paul Jubb, South Carolina
Daniel Rodrigues, South Carolina
Timo Stodder, Tennessee
Adam Walton, Tennessee
Juan Carlos Aguilar, Texas A&M

Second Team All-SEC
Hady Habib, Texas A&M
Oscar Mesquida, Arkansas
Tim Sandkaulen, Ole Miss
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Sam Riffice, Florida
Niclas Braun, Mississippi State
Enzo Wallart, Kentucky
Andy Andrade, Florida
Scott Jones, Tennessee
Johannes Ingildsen, Florida
Cameron Klinger, Vanderbilt
Barnaby Smith, Texas A&M

All-Freshman
Sam Riffice, Florida
Daniel Rodrigues, South Carolina
Boris Kozlov, LSU
Philip Henning, Georgia
Raphael Lambling, South Carolina
Lukas Greif, Florida

Payer of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State

Freshman of the Year
Sam Riffice, Florida

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State

Coach of the Year
Bryan Shelton, Florida