Gator Men's Tennis Places Four on All-SEC Teams
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The eighth-ranked Florida men's tennis team placed four players on 2011 All-Southeastern Conference teams, led by senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) earning his third consecutive first-team nod and fourth overall All-SEC honor of his career. Sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) joined Lacroix on the first team, while junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) garnered second-team honors and Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
Lacroix claims this accolade just three days after leading the Gators to the SEC Tournament championship and earning SEC Tournament MVP honors. Lacroix set and extended the UF doubles wins record this year, currently sitting at 99. He rates No. 5 in school history with 107 singles wins and trails only Justin O'Neal on the Gators' all-time overall wins list with 206. Lacroix's 57 overall wins in 2010-11 is tied for the seventh most in a singles season all-time at Florida. He currently holds a No. 6 national singles ranking, while he is ranked in the doubles top 30 twice, at No. 24 with Bangoura and No. 27 with Slilam.
Bangoura, who was an All-Freshman honoree in 2010, marks his first All-SEC honor after going 15-8 in singles and 13-9 in doubles during the dual season, playing primarily at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles (with Lacroix). The Bradenton native has been a force for the Gators early in his career, eclipsing 50 singles wins less than three semesters after arriving in Gainesville in January of 2010.
Slilam collects his first All-SEC award after being the Gators' most consistent point in dual matches this spring, posting an 18-5 record. He and sophomore Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) have posted an 11-3 doubles record since being paired up at the beginning of the SEC regular season schedule. Slilam is ranked 91st nationally in singles and, as previously mentioned, he also holds a No. 27 national doubles ranking with Lacroix based on the duo's strong fall and early spring performance. Slilam provided the clinching point in Florida's 4-0 win over Kentucky on Sunday in the championship match of the SEC Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Butz, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad after posting a winning record in dual singles (6-5) and going 15-6 in dual doubles as a regular part of Florida's doubles lineup. Butz and sophomore Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) tallied a 4-0 record together during UF's run to the SEC Tournament championship last weekend.
The Gators have had multiple All-SEC honorees every year since 1999 and have had three or more in seven of 10 seasons under head coach Andy Jackson.
Florida (18-8) currently awaits its draw for the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 3, at 5:30 p.m. on an NCAA.com webcast.
All-SEC Honorees
First Team
Tim Puetz, Auburn
Alexandre Lacroix, Florida
Sekou Bangoura Jr., Florida
Wil Spencer, Georgia
Javier Garrapiz, Georgia
Eric Quigley, Kentucky
Marcel Thiemann, Ole Miss
Boris Conkic, Tennessee
John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee
Rhyne Williams, Tennessee
Tennys Sandgren, Tennessee
Ryan Lipman, Vanderbilt
Second Team
Chris Nott, Arkansas
Alex Stamchev, Auburn
Nassim Slilam, Florida
Sadio Doumbia, Georgia
Drake Bernstein, Georgia
Alex Musialek, Kentucky
Alberto Gonzalez, Kentucky
Neal Skupski, LSU
Tucker Vorster, Ole Miss
Artem Ilyushin, Mississippi State
George Coupland, Mississippi State
Louis Cant, Mississippi State
Adam Baker, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman Team
Daniil Proskura, Alabama
Andrew Butz, Florida
Hernus Pieters, Georgia
Tom Jomby, Kentucky
Malte Stropp, Mississippi State
Zach White, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year: Per Nilsson, Mississippi State
Player of the Year: John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Malte Stropp, Mississippi State
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Tim Puetz, Auburn
