BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 16-member 2016 All-Gulf South Conference Men's Tennis Team and individual annual award recipients were announced by the GSC on Thursday, April 21 and Delta State University's Alexi Turc was named First Team All-GSC. Turc, a sophomore from Marseille, France, posted an outstanding 8-4 record at No. 1 singles for the Statesmen, while combining for a 6-7 record in doubles. The 5-foot-6 speedster turned in a 5-2 mark in GSC play.

The 2016 All-GSC Men's Tennis Team saw 16 student-athletes honored. West Florida, Valdosta State and North Alabama all led the field of honorees with four each garnering laurels, while Lee, Delta State, West Alabama and Shorter all had one each make the team.

Individually, this year's team returned three First Team members and two Second Team members from a year ago. Valdosta State saw Leo Blay (2015 First Team) and Gereon Heitmann (2015 Second Team), while West Florida returned Kenny Brasil (2015 First Team) and Alex Peyrot (2014-15 First Team), the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Rounding out the list of returning honorees was Shorter's Louis Tourtois (2015 Second Team).
 
GSC Player of the Year
Valdosta State Sophomore Leo Blay, the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year, earned 2016 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year honors after going 7-3 in No. 1 singles play and, along with playing partner Xavier Pineda, was 16-2 in doubles play. The Nice, France, native went 2-1 versus nationally-ranked opponents and was 1-1 against ranked regional opponents. Blay and Pineda were a perfect 3-0 in the GSC Men's Tennis Tournament and Blay picked up a big win in the final against West Florida's Alex Peyrot (6-3, 7-6), the 2015 GSC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Blay is currently ranked No. 8 individually by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), while he and playing partner Pineda are the No. 9-ranked doubles team.
 
GSC Freshman of the Year
Lee Newcomer Eirik Groner was named the 2016 GSC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year. The Oslo, Norway, native was 12-5 in No. 1 singles play this season. He is also the first in program history to earn postseason conference laurels as this is the school's first full season of NCAA Division II eligibility.
 
GSC Co-Coaches of the Year
Valdosta State and West Florida head coaches John Hansen and Derrick Racine were named the 2016 GSC Co-Coaches of the Year. Hansen led his squad to a 5-4 win against Racine's team in the 2016 GSC Men's Tennis Tournament Final, which marked the 11th all-time conference tournament championship for VSU. Racine guided the ITA-No. 4 Argonauts to an 18-6 (9-0 GSC) finish, while Hansen's No. 8 Flames were 15-6 (8-1) this season. UWF had its streak snapped of 51-consecutive matches against GSC opponents snapped in the final against VSU, which closed the season a winner of its last three-straight matches. Both coaches will await their respective team's seedings as the 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Tournament field will be announced on May 3.

FIRST TEAM
Leo Blay, Valdosta State
Alex Peyrot, West Florida
Juan Pablo-Boada, West Florida
Gereon Heitmann, Valdosta State
Pablo Borrero, West Florida
Guillaume Dechoz, North Alabama
Alexi Turc, Delta State
Eirik Groner, Lee

SECOND TEAM
Miguel Garcia, North Alabama
Fernando Rivas, Valdosta State
Caspar Schuetze, West Alabama
Max Druppel, North Alabama
Jordi Mas, Valdosta State
Kenny Brasil, West Florida
Louis Tourtios, Shorter
Brendon Millington-Herrmann, North Alabama