Three Alabama Players Earn SEC Postseason Honors
4/25/2024 1:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Filip Planinsek, Matias Ponce De Leon and Andrii Zimnokh were named All-SEC honorees
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –– Three members of the Alabama men's tennis team earned Southeastern Conference postseason honors, the league office announced on Thursday. Filip Planinsek highlighted the Crimson Tide trio with his All-SEC First Team accolade, while Matias Ponce De Leon earned All-SEC Second Team honors and Andrii Zimnokh was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Planinsek secured All-SEC honors for the third-straight year. The first-team nod was the first of his career as the UA junior notched second-team honors in 2022 and 2023 in addition to being named the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year.
Ponce De Leon made a return appearance on the SEC postseason teams, becoming the 22nd player in program history to earn multiple all-conference honors, joining Planinsek who achieved the feat in 2023. Ponce De Leon was also named an all-freshman recipient in 2023.
Additionally, Zimnokh became the 10th UA player since 2011 to be named to the all-freshman team.
Filip Planinsek, First Team All-SEC
- Ranks 32nd in singles and 39th in doubles
- ITA Southern Regional Doubles Champion
- Competed at ITA All-American Championships
- Third consecutive year earning All-SEC honors
- Tallied 20 singles wins with 13 victories at the No. 1 spot
- Ranked second on the team in doubles wins with 20, trailing just doubles partner Zimnokh, who tallied two wins with another partner
- Ranked singles wins: No. 22 Raphael Perot (Texas A&M), No. 38 Peter Makk (Southern California), No. 50 Nikola Slavic (Ole Miss), No. 67 Cannon Kinglsey (Ohio State), No. 83 Mihailo Popovic (Wisconsin) and No. 118 Nemanja Malesevic (Mississippi State)
- Also recorded a third-set, unfinished match against No. 15 Michael Zheng (Columbia) and No. 44 Tyler Spice (Auburn-Blue Gray National Classic)
- Ranked doubles wins: No. 8 Lukas Engelhardt and Nikola Slavic (Ole Miss- ITA Southern Regional Championships), No. 29 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood (Arkansas), No. 35 Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) and No. 75 Aleksi Lofman and Stefan Latinovic (LSU), in addition to an unfinished tiebreaker (6-6 (5-5)) against No. 24 Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal (Columbia)
- Two-time SEC Player of the Week for his performance at the ITA National Indoor Championships (Feb. 21) and against Ole Miss and then-No. 11 Texas A&M (April 15)
Matias Ponce De Leon, Second Team All-SEC
- Holds a team-leading 27 singles wins, including a team-leading eight wins in league play
- Finished the regular season by winning eight of his last 10 singles matches, including four of his last five matches
- Climbed to No. 3 in the Tide's singles lineup where he posted 10 victories, before playing as UA's No. 2 in the SEC Tournament
- Posted ranked singles wins against No. 77 John Hallquist (Ole Miss) and No. 99 Tanapatt Nirundorn (Florida)
- Reached the semifinals at the ITA Southern Regional Championships in the singles draw in addition to reaching the quarterfinals in the doubles draw
- Paced Alabama in the fall, winning 11 singles matches and nine doubles victories as the team leader in both events
- Second All-SEC nod after being named to the all-conference freshman team in 2023
Andrii Zimnokh, SEC All-Freshman Team
- Ranked 39th in doubles
- Named SEC Freshman of the Week for going undefeated in singles and doubles against Arkansas and LSU (March 27)
- Climbed to No. 2 in Tide's singles lineup as a freshman
- ITA Southern Regional Doubles Champion
- Plays at the No. 1 doubles spot for UA
- Holds a team-leading 22 doubles victories with 13 wins in dual matches
- Ranks third on team in singles victories with 24 wins
- Captured a team-leading 18 singles wins in dual matches
- Ranked doubles wins: No. 8 Lukas Engelhardt and Nikola Slavic (Ole Miss- at ITA Southern Regional Championships), No. 29 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood (Arkansas), No. 35 Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) and No. 75 Aleksi Lofman and Stefan Latinovic (LSU), in addition to an unfinished tiebreaker (6-6 (5-5)) against No. 24 Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal (Columbia)
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