RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros Department of Intercollegiate Athletics learned on Tuesday that sophomore Michael Chan and junior Santiago Serrano of the men's tennis program have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team.
Academic All-District selections are part of the Academic All-America program, which is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across many levels of college sports. To be eligible, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore athletically and academically with a 3.50 cumulative GPA or better. Requirements to earn Academic All-District for men's tennis also include competing in at least 75% of your matches.
Chan broke out this year by grabbing hold of the No. 6 singles spot and never looking back. His first win of the year came over a Rice team that is currently ranked 49th in the nation during opening weekend. Chan went on to earn his first ever power conference win at SMU. He also had several tight matches abandoned against Baylor, Texas Tech, and Tulsa. Chan made a statement in his first-ever Southland Conference match, clinching the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, and a 4-3 win over the defending SLC Champions, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He closed out conference play with straight set wins over New Orleans and Nicholls. Chan has been the most consistent driver for the men's tennis team this season, earning a team-high 10 wins with a .556-win percentage during the regular season. For his efforts, Chan also earned first-team all-conference honors at No. 6 singles.
Serrano primarily competed at the No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles this spring. Serrano, and doubles partner, junior Ivo Isqueiro, earned all-conference first team honors after going 4-1 in conference play. Their first match as a duo was a win over defending SLC Champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 7-5, and they also added conference wins against Lamar, Nicholls, and New Orleans. Isqueiro and Serrano consistently delivered in high-leverage moments, clinching all four doubles points won by UTRGV. In singles play, Serrano went 3-2 in conference play, picking up the lone singles win against regular season champion Incarnate Word and earned wins against New Orleans and Nicholls.
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