Auburn's top-ranked singles player, NCAA qualifier Tyler Stice has earned another SEC honor for his play this season.
Stice was one of six players selected by the league's coaches for the All-Newcomer Team, honoring those young players who were not able to receive all-freshman recognition during the shortened 2020 season. Others honored were: Blaise Bicknell (Florida), Tyler Zink (Georgia), Liam Draxl (Kentucky), Gabriel Diallo (Kentucky) and Connor Thomson (South Carolina).
Stice was also voted first team all-SEC by the conference's men's tennis coaches.
"What a great season for Tyler, finishing with an NCAA championships berth," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "You can't find a more fierce competitor on the court during matches, a player who never gives up and a player who raises his level of play in pressure moments. And he is dedicated and works hard every day.
"He's going to try and play some Futures events and some other higher-level UTR tournaments against professional-level players this summer. I'm excited for what the future holds for Tyler. This is just the beginning of an illustrious career here at Auburn."
Stice, No. 31 in the final Oracle ITA singles national rankings, posted a 12-10 mark this spring playing in the top spot and earning a bid to the NCAA singles championships in Orlando.
He went 7-6 in SEC play, with wins over South Carolina (#81 Raphael Lambling), Vanderbilt (#117 George Harwell), Alabama (Zhe Zhou), Tennessee (#24 Adam Walton), Georgia (#9 Trent Bryde), Ole Miss (#55 Tim Sandkaulen) and Arkansas (Alex Reco).
The Atlanta, Ga., product clinched the 4-3 win at Alabama with his three-set victory, and earned SEC weekly honors for his wins over Tennessee and Georgia.
In doubles, Stice had a 13-4 mark this spring paired with Jan Galka; they were 6-3 in SEC action on court three with wins over Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Arkansas. They clinched the doubles point in six matches.
