Alabama's O'Shaughnessey and Osama Receive ITA Regional Awards
5/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
"It's always a good thing to be recognized by your peers, and I applaud our region for selecting Becker and Mazen for these awards," said Alabama head coach George Husack. "It's humbling to see that an Alabama player is being honored for an award named after one of the game's all-time great athletes and humanitarians in Arthur Ashe. Becker made his mark by excelling on and off the court, while his sportsmanship, leadership and character stood out in his college career aside from his statistics. Mazen made a significant impact during his freshman campaign, and we look forward to see his growth and maturity as a student-athlete continue to develop throughout his time at Alabama."
O'Shaughnessey, the 2016 team captain, won over 80 matches throughout his career in singles and another 70 in doubles and was ranked nationally in both categories. He earned several athletic and academic honors in his four-year career including doubles All-America honors and the ITA Southern Region Player to Watch award in 2014. O'Shaughnessey is a three-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete, a two-time member of the All-SEC Second Team and was a member of the 2013 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Osama, who recently earned All-America honors in doubles and was named Second Team All-SEC and All-Freshman Team, was the only freshman in the league to play primarily at No. 1 singles and doubles throughout the season. He led the Crimson Tide with 13 singles victories in dual match play and added another 17 wins in doubles. Osama entered the national singles rankings in January after being No. 1 on the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's National Newcomer/Freshman of the Year list in September. He also had a very successful dual match season in doubles with sophomore Korey Lovett, reaching a program-high ranking of No. 4. The duo went undefeated in their last 11 regular season matches, beating eight nationally-ranked opponents along the way.
Osama and Lovett will represent the Tide in the 2016 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, which begin May 25, at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
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