ODESSA, Texas (April 29, 2026) – Nehal Naidoo of the UT Permian Basin men's tennis team was named the 2026 Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-LSC for singles. In addition, Lucas Nakasato (men) and Fanny Bergstrom (women) were both named to the LSC Sportsmanship Team.

Freshman of the Year / Honorable Mention All-LSC (Singles)
Naidoo, a freshman from Torbay, Auckland, New Zealand, was 10-7 overall in singles (4-3 at No. 2, 6-4 at No. 3) and was 7-12 overall in doubles (all at No. 1 doubles). Naidoo led UTPB with in singles wins on the season and was the lone Falcon with a winning record in singles play. In conference play, he was 6-2 in singles (2-0 at No. 2, 4-2 at No. 3) and was 2-6 in doubles. Naidoo and fellow freshman Joao D'Amorim finished the season with an above .500 record (4-3) at No. 1 doubles, and were named the LSC Men's Tennis Doubles Team of the Week (4/23/26) after going 2-0 at No. 1 doubles against Western New Mexico University and Sul Ross State University. In singles, Naidoo had a winning record in each of the final two months of the year. Naidoo was 4-2 in singles play in the month March and then went 5-1 in singles during the month of April, with his only loss in the final month being a three-set match where he fell 15-13 in a third-set super tiebreaker. Naidoo finished out this season on a five-match winning streak in singles, including beating a nationally-ranked player from No. 10 LCU (No. 18 Pablo Segura) at No. 2 singles during the final match of the season. It was UTPB's lone singles win this season vs. a nationally-ranked player. Naidoo was also named to the 2026 LSC Preseason Players to Watch list as just a freshman, and was named to the Fall 2025 LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll in his first collegiate semester.

Sportsmanship Team:
Nakasato, a sophomore from Itupeva, São Paulo, Brazil, was named to the LSC Men's Tennis Sportsmanship Team. He was 6-9 overall in singles (1-1 at No. 1, 4-3 at No. 2, 1-5 at No. 3) and was 7-12 overall in doubles (6-11 No. 2, 1-1 No. 3). He was second on the team this season in singles wins. In conference play, he was 3-4 in singles (3-3 at No. 1, 0-1 at No. 3) and was 3-5 in doubles (2-5 at No. 2, 1-0 at No. 3). He was named to the 2026 LSC Preseason Players to Watch list and earned LSC Doubles Team of the Week recognition with Andrew Hunsley (2/26/26) after the pair picked up a nationally-ranked doubles win with a 6-4 decision over the No. 23 nationally-ranked doubles pair from No. 24 Harding at No. 2 doubles. Nakasato was named to the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll with a 4.0 GPA for both semesters, and was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete as a freshman in 2024-25.

Bergstrom, a sophomore from Gothenburg, Sweden, was named to the LSC Women's Tennis Sportsmanship Team. She was 8-9 overall in singles (4-8 at No. 1, 1-0 at No. 2, 3-1 at No. 3) and was 6-13 overall in doubles (5-13 at No. 1, 1-0 at No. 3). Bergstrom led the Falcons with eight singles wins on the year and nearly finished at .500 in singles play. In conference play, she was 2-8 in both singles and doubles, all at the No. 1 position. Bergstrom has been named to the LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of her first three semesters.