RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Southland Conference (SLC) announced the 2025 Men's Tennis All-Academic Teams and Student-Athlete of the Year on Monday and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) redshirt junior Sam Whitehead and sophomore Will Roberts were recognized. 
 
Whitehead, the 2025 SLC Men's Tennis Player of the Year, made the All-Academic First Team. The All-Conference Singles First Team honoree went 7-12 this spring with a 4-1 record in the No. 1 flight during conference play while picking up seven doubles wins. The Launceston, Tasmania, Australia product graduated in May with a management degree. Whitehead was named the UTRGV Male Student-Athlete of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year at the annual V Awards.
 
Roberts was selected to the All-Academic Second Team after going 9-9 in singles this spring, matching the team's most singles wins. Roberts, a management major from New Plymouth, New Zealand, notched a 3-1 mark in conference play in the fifth flight. 
 
The SLC Men's Tennis All-Academic Teams are voted on by the head coaches, academic advisors and sports information directors across the conference. To be eligible, student-athletes must have a 3.25 cumulative GPA or better and have competed in at least 50% of the team's contests while completing at least one semester at the nominating institution. 
 
Whitehead and Roberts also both made the CSC Academic All-District Team. 
 
2024-25 SLC Men's Tennis All-Academic Awards
Student-Athlete of the Year: Matthew Armbruster, New Orleans
 
First Team (*denotes automatic selection by virtue of All-Conference First Team)
Matthew Armbruster, New Orleans*
Julian Franzmann, New Orleans*
David Tesic, New Orleans*
Sep de Visser, New Orleans*
Nathan Favier, A&M-Corpus Christi*
Matthieu Coignet, A&M-Corpus Christi*
Etienne Marty, A&M-Corpus Christi*
Omar Suarez, A&M-Corpus Christi*
Josef Zapletal, A&M-Corpus Christi*
Sam Whitehead, UTRGV*
 
Second Team
Stefano Chappuis, Lamar
Oscar Callo von Platen, NJIT
Nejc Skorjanc, NJIT
Nicholas Trebuchet, A&M-Corpus Christi
Will Roberts, UTRGV 
Kotaro Matsumura, Nicholls