LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Seven members of the national championship Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis team have earned NAIA All-America honors, the national office announced on Tuesday, May 21.
First-team selections were presented to senior Rafael Coutinho, junior Federico Herrera Duran, sophomore Federico Bonacia and freshman Jose Dugo. Meanwhile, second-team accolades were awarded to senior Ayed Zatar, junior Mika Kosonen and sophomore Valentino Caratini.
Coutinho won 17 of 18 matches in singles this spring, including a 12-1 mark on the No. 3 court. He also posted a 15-2 doubles record that featured a 13-0 mark with Caratini.
Herrera Duran played No. 1 singles and was the No. 1-ranked player in the NAIA, as selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He had a 16-2 singles record and won 20 of 23 matches in doubles.
Bonacia won the clinching point at No. 2 singles in the 2019 NAIA national championship match against Xavier University (La.). He was victorious on a team-high 46 matches, with a 22-1 mark in singles and 24-3 record in doubles.
Dugo went 18-1 while playing singles throughout the Grizzlies’ lineup. Half of his victories came at No. 4 singles, including match-clinching wins against NCAA Division III Emory University (Ga.) and NCAA Division II Columbus State University (Ga.) – keeping the program’s winning streak alive.
Caratini, a two-time All-American, had a 39-3 record among singles and doubles matches this season. He was unbeaten in 16 singles matches.
Zatar joined Bonacia in having a 23-4 record in No. 1 doubles, including winning the NAIA men’s doubles national championship during the fall portion of the season.
Kosonen posted a 21-1 singles record, a 7-0 mark on the No. 5 court and 12 victories in No. 6 matches. One of the wins came in the recent national championship match.
GGC completed its fourth straight undefeated season by sweeping Xavier (La.) 5-0 to win the 2019 NAIA championship. It was the program’s sixth straight title in six seasons of postseason eligibility.
The Grizzlies went 27-0 during the 2019 season and have won 109 straight matches.