FARMINGTON, Utah - After capturing its 14th conference title and earning its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2018, the Idaho men's tennis team had five players take home Big Sky Conference honors, the league office announced Monday morning.
"We had two on the all-conference list last year and now have five mentions this season, showing that we are progressing in the right direction," Idaho head coach
Daniel Hangstefer said. "Every guy on this team brings a tremendous amount of value and this is just one of those honors that are showing the fruit of our labor."
Sophomore
Francisco Bascon and freshman
Francisco Gay headline the conference honors for the Vandals. Bascon was named first-team All-Big Sky in singles for the second consecutive year while Gay earned Freshman of the Year honors. Sophomore
Matteo Masala received his first league recognition of his young career after being named second-team all-conference in singles.
Idaho also earned a pair of awards for all-conference honorable mention in doubles. Bascon and
Bruno Casino tallied their second conference award as a duo in two years while
Mario Duron and Gay tallied their first conference award as a tandem.
Bascon went 6-2 in Big Sky play this season, helping him become one of two conference players to be named a unanimous first-team selection. He went 14-3 in the spring season, posting a 12-3 mark at the No. 1 spot for Idaho. The Cordoba, Spain native ended the season winning five of his last six matches, including two victories over Big Sky MVP Ed Pudney of Montana.
"From the moment Cisco got here, we knew he was going to be a phenomenal player for us," Hangstefer stated. "He's also a great person, great in the classroom, and one of our team captains. He and Bruno have done a great job of leading this team and making us better each year."
Gay, an Esperanza, Argentina native, worked his way to be a consistent performer at the No. 2 position for the Vandals. He was 8-8 overall in the spring while posting a 5-3 mark in conference play to help receive the Big Sky honor.
"We knew Fran was going to be a great player when we recruited him," Hangstefer said. "We put him in an incredibly difficult situation that high in the lineup in his freshman year, but he fully embraced it. He works extremely hard and he's an incredibly humble guy. We are happy to have him as a part of our team."
Masala delivered a perfect 8-0 league record at No. 4 to help take home Second Team All-Big Sky honors. He led the squad with a 17-5 mark in the spring, including 5-0 at No. 3 and 10-3 at No. 4. Masala won 10 out of his last 11 matches to end his second season for Idaho and did so surrendering only five sets during that time.
"Matteo has turned it on this season," Hangstefer said. "He bought in this year and his results have shown for it."
Bascon and Casino put together a 4-4 Big Sky record to earn all-conference honorable mention. The duo went 10-12 overall at the No. 1 spot. One of their most notable victories of the season came against Montana State, as the pair defeated No. 50 Matej Panik and Jamieson Nathan, 6-3.
Duron and Gay played out of the No. 3 slot during the back half of the season, registering a 7-4 record. They went 6-1 in the Big Sky and won five of their last seven conference matches.
Idaho wrapped up its season at the NCAA Tournament last week, falling to the Texas Longhorns 4-0. The Vandals plan to return every player from this season's roster and have their eyes on repeating as conference champions in 2023.
First Team Singles
Francisco Bascon (Idaho)*
Ed Pudney (Montana)*
Mark Keki (Sacramento State)
Matej Panik (Montana State)
Patrik Trhac (Idaho State)
Sebastian Buxman (Weber State)
* - Unanimous first-team selection
Second Team Singles
Eban Straker-Meads (NAU)
Matteo Masala (Idaho)
Mortiz Stoeger (Montana)
Patrick Kristensen (Idaho State)
Dominik Buzonics (NAU)
Joaquin Espinoza (Montana State)
Honorable Mention Singles
Lawrence Sciglitano (Montana)
Jamieson Nathan (Montana State)
Oisin Shaffrey (Montana)
First Team Doubles
Keki/Voros (Sacramento State)
Trhac/Petrovic (Idaho State)
Nathan/Panik (Montana State)
Second Team Doubles
Buzonics/Groves (NAU)
Straker-Meads/Tumosa (NAU)
Theilgaard/Benn (Montana)
Honorable Mention Doubles
Gay/Duron (Idaho)
Bascon/Casino (Idaho)
Big Sky Men's Tennis Individual Awards
Coach of the Year: Trey Morris (Montana State)
Most Valuable Player: Ed Pudney (Montana)
Freshman of the Year: Francisco Gay (Idaho)
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