Kentucky men’s tennis junior Will Bushamuka was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American due to his impressive season on the singles court, the ITA announced on Thursday.
“I’m really proud and happy for William,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “To become an All-American is very special. It’s a very small fraternity and very difficult to enter. He has played the very big matches very well this year.
“The last three weeks of the season, he was a stud. He is now one of the best tennis players in college when he is ready to play. Will and I both know he still has a lot more to accomplish and work on, especially how he will lead this team. He will have to do a consistent job with himself and his teammates next year for his class to leave something special behind. Congrats to him and go Cats!”
A player receives All-America status in singles if they are a top-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship or finish in the top 20 of the final Oracle/ITA National Singles rankings. Bushamuka met all three of the qualifications.
Bushamuka adds the All-America honors to an already impressive list of awards. The junior was named ITA Ohio Valley Player to Watch and first team All-SEC.
Bushamuka finished at No. 14 in the final ITA rankings. The Princeton, N.J. native racked up 16 wins this spring season, mostly on the No. 1 court. Bushamuka earned a team-leading 10 wins over ranked opponents this season. Bushamuka earned a win over two ranked opponents – No. 95 Zackery Kennedy of Georgia State and No. 5 Petros Chrysochos of Wake Forest – both in the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Singles Tournament, he took down No. 77 Tuki Jacobs and No. 23 Gustav Hansson to advance to the round of 16.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
‑ GO CATS –
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Mike Scholze