The Coyotes finished second overall in the final team standings with 42 points, trailing only Wallace State - Hanceville (45 points) in the 18-team national field. Coastal Alabama - South concluded the season with an impressive 18-8 overall record after also placing second at the ACCC Men's Tennis Championship Tournament earlier this spring.

Leading the charge for the Coyotes was a quartet of standout performers who each captured singles flight championships and earned NJCAA Division II First-Team All-America honors.

Freshman Milan Olagnon (Valence, France) captured the Flight 3 Singles National Championship and earned First-Team All-America status in his first collegiate season with the 'Yotes. Olagnon defeated Mississippi Gulf Coast 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 16 and Southwest Mississippi 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. In one of the tournament's most thrilling matches, he outlasted Wallace State - Hanceville (Ala.) in the semifinals, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, before defeating Jones College (Miss.) 6-3, 6-3 in the finals.

Sophomore Alvaro Velasco (Madrid, Spain) added another national championship for the Coyotes in Flight 4 Singles. Velasco rolled through the opening rounds, defeating Meridian (Miss.) 6-0, 6-0 and Rowan College of South Jersey (N.J.) 6-1, 6-1 before topping Mississippi Gulf Coast 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Velasco rallied from a set down to defeat Wallace State - Hanceville, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Sophomore Nils Guyot (Le Moule, Guadeloupe) claimed the Flight 5 Singles National Championship in dominant fashion. Guyot opened tournament play with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Illinois Valley before battling past Jacksonville (Fla.) in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0. He followed with a 6-1, 7-6 semifinal victory against Jones College before securing the national title with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over Wallace State - Hanceville in the championship match.

Freshman Maximo Yanez (San Pedro, Argentina) completed the remarkable run with a Flight 6 Singles National Championship and First-Team All-America honors. Yanez defeated College of Lake County (Ill.) 6-0, 6-1 in the Round of 16 and Prairie State (Ill.) 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. After surviving a hard-fought semifinal against Mississippi Gulf Coast, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, Yanez produced one of the tournament's biggest comebacks in the finals. Trailing 2-5 in the third set against Wallace State - Hanceville, Yanez stormed back to win 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 and secure the national title.

Coastal Alabama - South Head Tennis Coach Kouri Allen reflected on the team's journey and the bond built throughout the season.

"We are so proud of the way these young men forged a brotherhood over the past two years," Allen said. "Day after day, they worked toward perfection on the court, in the classroom, and in the community."

Allen also praised the selflessness and unity displayed by the team throughout the year.

"They sacrificed for one another, pushed one another, and truly cared for each other beyond any cultural differences," Allen said. "What they accomplished this season speaks for itself, but what they accomplished as men will serve them well long after tennis."

 

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