ODESSA, Texas – The UT Permian Basin men's tennis team had four athletes earn Lone Star Conference (LSC) All-Conference awards, which was announced today (Apr. 24) – being highlighted by Vitaliy Horovoy who was awarded Player of the Year.  

Horovoy who is currently ranked the 23^rd singles player in Division II in The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, also was named to First Team Singles. During the 2023-24 season, it was very uncommon for Horovoy to lose a singles match, as he recorded a 21-6 singles record.

Earlier today he was awarded LSC Men's Tennis Player of the week for his performance last week where he won at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles against St. Mary's to help UT Permian Basin secure its first LSC regular season title in program history. Horovoy prevailed 6-3, 6-7(8), 10-8 in singles and teamed with Jonathan Vega for a 6-1 win.

The duo of Horovoy and Vega, was a strong pairing during the season leading to them earning Second Team Doubles. Horovoy had a 16-9 doubles record, while Vega was 14-5. Similar to Horovoy, Vega lost very few matches on the singles side, resulting in him earning Second Team Singles, and finishing with a 16-3 singles record.  

Two-time LSC player of the week, Takumi Katsuda, also earned himself a spot on the First Team Singles team - heading into the LSC tournament ranked the 71^st men's tennis player in the ITA rankings. He finished the season with a 19-10 singles record and a 25-8 doubles record – which earned him and his partner Lucas Nitzschke, Honorable Mention Doubles. Nitzsche finished the season with a 22-8 doubles record.

Katsuda was also named to the Sportsmanship Team.

The Falcons will be back on the court tomorrow (Apr. 25) facing Arkansas Fort Smith at 3:30 p.m., with the winner of that match facing either UT Tyler or St. Mary's on Friday (Apr. 26) at 1 p.m.