GGC Athletics
Dale Long, Director of Sports InformationÂ
LAWRENCEVILLE – Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis players captured three of the five honors in the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA national awards, presented on the basis of their fine play during the spring season. The recognition came during the organization’s virtual awards ceremony, presented by Oracle.
Federico Herrera Duran is the ITA Senior Player of the Year after having a No. 2 national doubles ranking with a perfect 10-0 record. Earlier, he garnered ITA All-American accolades. Herrera Duran helped the Grizzlies win NAIA national titles from 2017-19 and he also won the 2018 NAIA singles national championship.
Freshman Max Bertimon received the ITA Rookie of the Year award. He concluded the spring as the nation’s top-ranked singles player after winning all 10 of his matches, including a 6-0 record on the No. 1 court.
Mika Kosonen earned the ITA Most Improved Senior award. He won a team-high 14 singles matches in 2020 and earned a No. 25 national ITA ranking among NAIA players. Kosonen was a member of two national championship-winning teams, and individually he reached the singles final of the 2018 ITA Oracle Cup after capturing the ITA South Regional title.
Georgia Gwinnett College, led by Head Coach Chase Hodges, was the nation’s top-ranked NAIA team. It had a 14-0 dual meet record in 2020 and has won its last 123 dual matches. The 2020 season ended due to the COVID-19 public health pandemic.