CSU Men's Tennis Team Racks Up Awards
Florence, S.C. - It was another night full of awards for the top-ranked Columbus State University men's tennis program, as the Cougars racked up the hardware at Thursday's Peach Belt Conference pre-championship banquet at Francis Marion.
Columbus State saw KP Pannutake home the PBC Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year, as well as Evan Isaacs winning Coach of the Year for the third straight season.
Pannu,Zach Whaanga and Alvaro Regalado were also All-Conference singles selections, while the duos of Whaanga and Regalado, along with Pannu and Matei Avram picked up doubles honors.
Pannu followed up his historic junior campaign with another stellar regular season as a senior. The top-ranked singles player in the nation went 18-1 on the singles courts this year including a 7-1 record against nationally ranked opponents. He also finished the season 16-4 in doubles play mixing his action between Avram, Whaanga and Tommaso Schold.
Whaanga earned first All-Conference honors for the second consecutive season, going 12-4 in singles play with all but one of his matches at the second position. The senior also boasted a 17-3 record in doubles play, with all but one of his matches alongside Regalado as the top-ranked doubles duo in the nation.
With a 17-3 doubles record this season, Regalado also sported an incredible 16-1 record in singles play. The sophomore played a majority of his singles action in the third position, and finished the regular season going 4-0 against nationally ranked opponents.
For the second straight year Avram picked up All-PBC hardware for his work in doubles. The junior amassed a 17-3 record with most of his doubles matches taking place on the second court.
The Coach of the Year honors makes it three in a row for Isaacs after he guided the Cougars to a 20-2 overall record. CSU enters the postseason as the top-ranked team in the nation, with Isaacs coaching them to their second straight undefeated season in conference play and third straight regular season conference championship. An invitation to the upcoming NCAA Tournament would be the Cougars 20th overall and 12th in a row.
Columbus State enters the PBC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will take on eighth-seeded Francis Marion on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. in Florence, S.C.