DALLAS – MTSU’s Leo Raquin was named the 2024 Conference USA Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, announced by the league office on Wednesday. This marks Raquin’s first Player of the Year honor and the fifth straight season for a Blue Raider. In singles, he has been ranked as high as No. 18 and owns an 18-8 mark with wins over eight ranked opponents. In doubles, Raquin has been ranked as high as No. 25 with partner Ondrej Horak, holding an impressive 17-5 record in the No. 1 position. He will represent MTSU in the singles and doubles portion of the NCAA Championships that takes place in Stillwater, Oklahoma, beginning on May 21.
 
MTSU head coach Jimmy Borendame earned Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 14 years at the helm in Murfreesboro. Borendame has led the Blue Raiders to a 20-9 record with seven of those wins coming against Power 5 opponents. The Blue Raider head man surpassed 250 wins and guided his 37^th-ranked squad to a fifth straight CUSA title. MTSU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships and will face No. 27 Georgia Tech in the first round in Starkville, Mississippi.
 
Jakub Kroslak of MTSU was named Freshman of the Year. He boasts a 12-3 record in singles play and has tallied seven doubles wins, including two at the CUSA Championship. In the first weekend of the season, he tallied two singles wins and a doubles win, earning him CUSA Athlete of the Week for his performance. Kroslak also clinched a big win over No. 22 Mississippi State to help the Blue Raiders get revenge on the Bulldogs.
 
Liberty’s Deji Thomas-Smith was named Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship after going 2-0 with two straight set victories on court No. 3 for the Flames. The senior bested Jax State’s Alin Fatu (6-3, 6-3) in the semifinals on Saturday and then followed that performance with a 6-3, 6-4 win over MTSU’s Ondrej Horak in the championship final.
 
Jakub Kroslak and Shu Matsuoka of MTSU earned Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship. The duo went 2-0 at the CUSA Championship as they secured the doubles point in the semifinal match against NM State and handled business in the final on court No. 3 to set up court No. 1 to claim the doubles point.
 
2024 Conference USA Men’s Tennis Superlative Awards
Player of the Year: Leo Raquin, MTSU
Freshman of the Year: Jakub Kroslak, MTSU
Newcomer of the Year: Leo Raquin, MTSU
Coach of the Year: Jimmy Borendame, MTSU
Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship: Deji Thomas-Smith, Liberty
Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship: Jakub Kroslak/Shu Matsuoka, MTSU
 
All-Conference Singles-First Team
Luis Felipe Miguel, Liberty
Ivan Marrero Curbelo, Jax State
Marcel Kamrowski, MTSU
Jakub Kroslak, MTSU
Leo Raquin, MTSU
Demis Taramonlis, MTSU
 
All-Conference Singles-Second Team
Deji Thomas-Smith, Liberty
Rafael Marques Da Silva, Liberty
Chase Robinson, Liberty
Vanja Dobrnjac, Jax State
Xavier Sarda Marti, Jax State
Ondrej Horak, MTSU
Tobias Wallin, NM State
 
All-Conference Doubles-First Team
Rafael Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit, Liberty
Ondrej Horak/Leo Raquin, MTSU
Javier Cueto Ramos/Marcel Kamrowski, MTSU
 
All-Conference Doubles-Second Team
Ivan Marrero Curbelo/Xavier Sarda Marti, Jax State
Marko Milosavljevic/Zach Murphy, Jax State
Jakub Kroslak/Shu Matsuoka, MTSU