Alabama Men’s Tennis Highlighted in ITA Division I Southern Regional Awards
5/16/2017 11:37:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Mazen Osama named ITA Player to Watch; Thibault Cancel earns ITA Rookie of the Year honors
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Alabama men's tennis team featured two student-athletes in this year's Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Southern Regional Awards, announced by the ITA office. Sophomore Mazen Osama was named the ITA Player to Watch, while freshman Thibault Cancel earned ITA Rookie of the Year honors.
Osama was most recently named First Team All-SEC for the 2017 season, and in 2016 he was named Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman. The Cairo, Egypt, native was an ITA Doubles All-American in 2016, and that same year he earned the ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year award.
Osama leads the team for the most doubles and singles wins with 22 and 19, respectively. He is also first on the team for the most doubles and singles victories since the start of the dual match season with 16 and 11, respectively. The skilled sophomore has taken down a number of quality opponents in his two years at Alabama, as he has tallied 15 career wins over nationally ranked singles opponents and 13 career victories over nationally ranked doubles teams. Osama partnered up with sophomore Spencer Richey to register a team-best 13 wins since the start of the spring season, with all matches coming from the top court. He has been featured in the weekly ITA rankings nine times since beginning the dual match season. Osama has recorded eight wins over nationally ranked singles opponents this year, while registering five victories over nationally ranked doubles teams.
Cancel has made a significant immediate impact to the Alabama roster since his arrive on campus last fall. The Toulouse, France, native was most recently named Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman for the 2017 season. He was named the SEC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week on February 8.
Cancel is second on the team in total singles wins with 17, and he is tied for first on the team for the most singles victories since the start of the spring with 11. The gifted freshman is ranked third on the team in total doubles wins and doubles victories since the start of the dual match season with 15 and 11, respectively. He has been ranked eight times in the weekly ITA ranking since the start of the spring season. Cancel has collected five wins over nationally ranked singles opponents this year, and one victory over a nationally ranked doubles team. During the 2016 fall season, he registered six wins in singles while posting four doubles victories.
The Alabama men's tennis team will be represented in the NCAA singles and doubles championships for the sixth straight season, led by Osama and Richey. All matches will take place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., from May 24-29.
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