Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

202021_mtennis_caaawards

Men's Tennis Joe Browning

Seahawks Sweep CAA Tennis Awards

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW's Colonial Athletic Association men's tennis champions made it a clean sweep in the league's postseason awards handed out early Tuesday.
 
Head Coach Mait DuBois was named Coach of the Year for the seventh time, junior Bruno Caula was selected Player of the Year and newcomer Bekhzod Rasamatov shared Rookie of the Year accolades.
 
DuBois steered the Seahawks to their seventh conference championship and an eighth appearance in the NCAA Regionals following a 15-5 regular season. UNCW won its seventh league title in the last 12 years under DuBois, the CAA's Coach of the Year in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2021.
 
"Being selected by the CAA coaches to receive these awards is a great finish to a very special year," said DuBois. "We are very appreciative and believe this is one of the strongest CAA fields that we have had. One of the things that made this team special was that we had 10 guys extremely focused on winning the team championship and doing everything they could to help the team.

"It's always very special to be selected by your coaching peers to win an award, especially this year when we have some coaches really pushing their programs forward and there were so many strong teams. I'm very lucky to be surrounded by some exceptional players, coaches, support staff and administrators. It's a very special situation to have two alumni with me on the coaching staff. We will definitely share this award as a team and staff."

Caula, from Cordoba, Argentina, became the fourth Seahawk to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Rafael Aita (2013|2014) and Santtu Leskinen (2016) on the exclusive list.
 
Caula went 11-7 in singles – all at the top of the lineup - and delivered the clincher in UNCW's 4-3 title-winning decision over William & Mary two weeks ago. He accomplished the triple crown this season, winning Player of the Year, Most Outstanding Player in the CAA Tournament and First-Team All-CAA honors.

DuBois added, "Bruno had an exceptional year. His performance in both singles and doubles is what pushed him to the top of the league. He came up very big for us in the CAA Tournament, going 3-0 in singles and clinching the deciding match. He is extremely committed to being the best player he can be and I know this award was one of his goals."

Rasamatov is the only the third UNCW player to be named Rookie of the Year in the CAA. The Tushkent, Uzbekistan, native made an immediate impact in his first season on the North Carolina coast, going 11-5 in singles and 9-4 in doubles. He played five different positions in the lineup for DuBois and the Seahawks.
 
"Bekhzod has been an excellent addition to our squad and we're very impressed with how quickly he has settled into college tennis," said DuBois. "Bek arrived in January and improved every week here. He is an exceptional competitor and very committed to playing at the next level.  I think we will see great things from him in the future."

Caula was joined on the First Team by junior Davide Innocenti, who amassed an 8-4 record in singles. Rasamatov and graduate student Daniel Groom collected Second Team honors.
 
Two Seahawk doubles teams were singled out. Caula and Groom, ranked No. 88 in the Oracle ITA Division I Men's Rankings, notched First-Team honors after going 11-5 at No. 1 doubles for the CAA champions. Rasamatov and junior Dillon Gooch were named Second-Team All-CAA in doubles with a 7-3 mark.

"I'm very happy that Daniel Groom was selected All-CAA in both singles and doubles.  He's an exceptional player and has done so much for us as a team captain, sportsman and competitor. Both of our seniors will be extremely missed and have absolutely left their mark on our program."
 
2021 CAA MEN'S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
 
CAA Player of the Year: Bruno Caula, UNCW
CAA Co-Rookies of the Year: Holden Koons, JMU and Bekhzod Rasamatov, UNCW
CAA Coach of the Year: Mait DuBois, UNCW

All-CAA First Team
Bruno Caula, UNCW
Akram El Sallaly, Elon
Kyle Frankel, Elon
Davide Innocenti, UNCW
Lev Kazakov, William & Mary
Holden Koons, James Madison
 
All-CAA First Team Doubles
 
Bruno Caula/Daniel Groom, UNCW
George Davis/Brenden Volk, William & Mary
Holden Koons/Paul Mendoza, James Madison
 
All-CAA Second Team
 
George Davis, William & Mary
Pierre-Louis Dodens, Delaware
Daniel Groom, UNCW
Camilo Ponce, Elon
Bekhzod Rasamatov, UNCW
James Wilkinson, Delaware
 
All-CAA Second Team Doubles
 
Kyle Frankel/Camilo Ponce, Elon
Dillon Gooch/Bekhzod Rasamatov, UNCW
Akram El Sallaly/Chung-Han Tsai, Elon
 

 
 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Bruno Caula

Bruno Caula

6' 2"
Junior
Dillon Gooch

Dillon Gooch

6' 0"
Junior
Daniel Groom

Daniel Groom

5' 9"
Senior
Davide Innocenti

Davide Innocenti

6' 1"
Junior
Beka Rasamatov

Beka Rasamatov

6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Bruno Caula

Bruno Caula

6' 2"
Junior
Dillon Gooch

Dillon Gooch

6' 0"
Junior
Daniel Groom

Daniel Groom

5' 9"
Senior
Davide Innocenti

Davide Innocenti

6' 1"
Junior
Beka Rasamatov

Beka Rasamatov

6' 0"
Freshman