FRISCO, Texas – In a historic season for the University of the Incarnate Word men's tennis team, the accolades for the team continued to pile, as junior Sebastian Mortier was named the Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year and joined senior Joey Vatanadilok and sophomore Nedim Ahmic in Academic All-Conference honors.
 
"I am very excited for Sebastian to receive this prestigious award," said head coach Jonas Andersson. "Sebastian went undefeated in conference play and he also showed he is not just an amazing player, but also an amazing student. He has proven himself that he is a great player on and off the court."
 
Mortier's Student-Athlete of the Year award is the first given to a Cardinal student-athlete from the Southland Conference since men's basketball's Kyle Hittle earned the recognition at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.
 
Mortier, a native of Hanau, Germany, was an automatic selection after he earned first team All-Conference accolades after going 13-8 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference singles play. Primarily playing in the #3 position, Mortier went 12-5 in that slot. He was named SLC Player of the Week on April 17 in helping the Cardinals clinch the top seed and reach their first D1 postseason tournament in program history. In doubles play, Mortier went 11-9, including a 4-0 record in conference play, working with Gabriel Evans. He has a cumulative 3.37 GPA in biology.
 
Also an automatic first team selection was San Antonio native Vatanadilok. The Bridgewater Academy alum went 10-7 on the season, with a 4-1 mark in SLC play, all in #4 singles. He earned first team All-Conference honors in helping the Cardinals reach the conference tournament in their first eligible season. In doubles action, Vatanadilok went 10-6 overall and 4-1 in SLC competition. He went 9-2 in the #2 position, working primarily with Paco Bendana. Vatanadilok has a 3.14 cumulative GPA in kinesiology-athletic training.
 
Earning second-team academic all-conference honors was Ahmic. The Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, native made the Dean's List every semester with a cumulative 3.83 GPA in computer information systems. He had a 5-10 singles mark, including a 1-1 conference record, primarily playing in the #5 position.
 
First Team
Sebastian Mortier* - Jr. – UIW – 3.37 GPA – Biology
Joey Vatanadilok* - Sr. – UIW – 3.14 GPA – Kinesiology
Logan Powell* - Sr. – Lamar – 4.00 GPA – Psychology
Nicolas Kramer – Jr. – New Orleans – 4.00 GPA – Accounting
Henry Adams – Sr. – Abilene Christian – 3.57 GPA – Accounting
Sebastian Santibanez – Jr. – Lamar – 3.65 GPA – Economics
 
Second Team
Carlos Pedrosa – So. – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 3.81 GPA – Mechanical Engineering
Brad Gleason – Sr. – Abilene Christian – 3.69 GPA – Psychology
Cole Lawson – Jr. – Abilene Christian – 3.70 GPA – Nursing
Jonathan Sheehy – So. – Abilene Christian – 3.00 GPA – Finance
Hunter Holman – Sr. – Abilene Christian – 3.51 GPA – Accounting
Nedim Ahmic – So. – UIW – 3.83 GPA – Computer Information Systems
 
* Automatic selection
 
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