ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Conference Freshman of the Year Dmitry Bezborodov was among four Tusculum University men's tennis players to earn All-South Atlantic Conference honors for the 2021 season, the SAC office announced Wednesday.
Bezbordov was named first-team All-SAC in singles and second-team All-SAC in doubles with partner Leon Huck, who was honorable mention All-Conference in singles. Frank Bonacia and Nemanja Subanovic were also selected second-team All-SAC in doubles and were each second-team in singles for the Pioneers, who finished in third place in the conference with a 9-2 league record and a 14-3 overall mark.
Bezborodov is the fifth Pioneer to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors, and the first since Nic Planchard in 2013. Previous Freshman of the Year winners from Tusculum include Lukas Winkelmann (2012), Sergio Espinosa (2005) and Roberto Robles (2002), and the five Freshman of the Year winners since the Pioneers joined the SAC in 1999 are more than any other conference school.
The Almaty, Kazakhstan native owns a 15-2 overall record in singles and is 9-1 in conference play, including 4-1 in three-set matches. Among his wins were a three-set victory over SAC Player of the Year Rhodri Atkinson of Lenoir-Rhyne in Sunday's regular-season finale. Bezborodov was 5-1 against players selected to the All-SAC team in singles.
Subanovic also had a strong freshman season for the Pioneers, compiling a 10-5 overall record primarily at number-two singles while going 6-3 in conference competition. The native of Subotica, Serbia had a 2-2 record in three-set matches and did not lost back-to-back contests all season.
Bonacia was strong at flight three for the Pioneers, going 15-2 overall to match Bezborodov for the best record on the team this season. The product of Rome, Italy went 10-1 in conference matches and compiled a 10-2 record playing at flight three. Bonacia, who owns a 20-6 singles record in two seasons for the Pioneers, went 3-0 in tiebreakers for the Pioneers and had a season set record of 29-5.
Huck went undefeated in conference play for the Pioneers, finishing 10-0 in SAC competition and going 13-2 overall. The Forchheim, Germany native was 11-0 at flight four for the Pioneers, and carries a 12-match winning streak into the postseason. Huck, who is 21-3 in his Tusculum career, won four matches this season in which he rallied after losing the first set.
In doubles competition, Bezborodov and Huck went 7-1 at flight two for the Pioneers and have five straight victories, while Bonacia and Subanovic were 6-2 at flight one with a 6-1 record in SAC matches.
Joining Atkinson and Bezborodov as a conference award winner was Wingate's Michael Cabana, who was recognized as SAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to a 10-0 record in SAC competition.
Tusculum will face Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Championship tournament on Thursday at noon at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina. The semifinals will be played Friday, with the championship match scheduled for Saturday.
2021 South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Rhodri Atkinson / Josh Lazenby, Lenoir-Rhyne
Paolo Bompieri / Kasper Rolfsen, Queens
Edoardo Bottino / Edoardo Cecere, Queens
Second Team Doubles
Nemanja Subanovic / Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Dmitry Bezborodov / Leon Huck, Tusculum
Josep Canyadell / Matthew Jones, Wingate
Honorable Mention Doubles
Juan Cruz Moncada / Thomas Pudney, Anderson
Maurcio Hernandez / Nicolas Moser, Lenoir-Rhyne
Jake Tuchmann / Iker Moure, Lincoln Memorial
First Team Singles
Rhodri Atkinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Dmitry Bezborodov, Tusculum
Edoardo Bottino, Queens
Enrico Giacomini, Wingate
Marc Janse, Carson-Newman
Paolo Bompieri, Queens
Second Team Singles
Edoardo Cecere, Queens
Roy Stepanov, Wingate
Juan Cruz Moncada, Anderson
Nemanja Subanovic, Tusculum
Josh Lazenby, Lenoir-Rhyne
Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Honorable Mention Singles
Leon Huck, Tusculum
Luis Zamorano, Limestone
Adam Kush, Anderson
Jake Tuchmann, Lincoln Memorial
Justus Lehmann, Coker
Thomas Pudney, Anderson
Player of the Year: Rhodri Atkinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Freshman of the Year: Dmitry Bezborodov, Tusculum
Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana, Wingate
