PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 5, 2016)— For the third straight season, USF's Roberto Cid was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, as postseason awards were announced by the conference Thursday.
The Dominican Republican native led the team with an impressive 22-2 record, all at the premier spot. Before climbing all the way to a No. 2 ranking this season, Cid took down the No. 1, 2 and 3 players in the nation, including topping the No. 2 and No. 1 player twice. Cid is the highest ranked player to ever compete for USF and the only All-American in either men's or women's tennis program.
Head coach Matt Hill was also named the American Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Hill led the Bulls to their third-straight conference title with yet another 4-0 win over Tulsa. In just four years as the head coach, he has guided the team to two conference titles and two NCAA appearances. Hill has coached multiple players who have advanced to the singles and doubles portion of the NCAA Tournament, including 2014 All-American Cid.
USF placed three players on the All-American Athletic Conference Men's Team. Cid, who earned all-conference singles honors, was joined by Justin Roberts, who earned doubles all-conference honors, and Dominic Cotrone who earned both all-conference singles and doubles honors.
The USF men's tennis team enjoyed quite the success in 2016. The team reached a program-high ranking of 13 and won their third consecutive conference championship.
The team will head to Gainesville, Fla. for the NCAA First and Second Rounds, Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15. USF will face off against St. John's at 9 a.m. on May 14, in the first round of the tournament. Should they win, the Bulls will face the winner of the Florida/North Florida match on Sunday, May 15.
Men's Tennis Awards
Player of the Year
Roberto Cid, Sr., USF
Freshman of the Year
Majed Kilani, Tulsa
Coach of the Year
Matt Hill, USF
All-Conference Team
Singles
Ryan Peniston, So., Memphis
Roberto Cid, Sr., USF
Dominic Cotrone, Sr., USF
Hunter Johnson, Jr., SMU
Dominik Koepfer, Sr., Tulane
Or Ram-Harel, Jr., Tulsa
Doubles
Dominic Cotrone, Sr., USF
Justin Roberts, So., USF
Hunter Johnson, Jr., SMU
Yates Johnson, Jr., SMU
Chi-Shan Jao, Jr., Tulane
Dominik Koepfer, Sr., Tulane
- #GoBulls -
