Baton Rouge, La. – LSU men’s tennis graduate student Gabriel Diaz Freire was named the 2022 Louisiana Men’s Tennis Newcomer of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association on Tuesday afternoon.
The Gijon, Spain native was one of three Tigers to be recognized by the LSWA. In his lone season at LSU, Diaz Freire led the team in both singles wins (23) and doubles (26) on the year. In SEC play, he grabbed six wins in singles play playing at the Nos. 3 & 4 spots for the Tigers and his six doubles wins in conference play led the team. Diaz Freire’s success played a big part in the Tigers qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and picking up the first tournament win for the program since 2016.
Ronald Hohmann joined his teammate on the First Team after his most successful season thus far at LSU. Hohmann once again led from the front for the Tigers as his singles play at the No. 1 spot contributed to the Tigers qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and picking up the program’s first win in the tournament since 2016. Individually, Hohmann made a charge to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Tournament and was named an ITA Singles All-American for the first time in his career and LSU’s first singles All-American since 2012.
The final Tiger to receive All-Louisiana honors was Vlad Lobak, who was named honorable mention. Lobak picked up 15 wins in singles play on the season and 18 in doubles play while playing near the top of the lineup for the Tigers at the No. 2 singles spot and No. 1 doubles spot.
For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes access on the Tigers, follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @lsutennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
2022 LOUISIANA SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION MEN’S COLLEGE TENNIS TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Gabriel Diaz Freire, LSU
Ronald Hohmann, LSU
Fynn Kuenkler, Tulane
Santiago Perez, Xavier
Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez, Louisiana
Marcel Volz, New Orleans
SECOND TEAM
Jacobi Bain, Xavier
Vasil Dimitrov, Louisiana
Oriol Fillat Gimenez, Louisiana
Max Heinzel, New Orleans
Calin Postea, Louisiana
Juan Ramirez, Xavier
HONORABLE MENTION
Vlad Lobak, LSU; Luka Petrovic, Tulane.
MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Santiago Perez, Xavier
MEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Gabriel Diaz Freire, LSU
MEN’S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jacobi Bain, Xavier
MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
Alan Green, Xavier