HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With the close of the 2020-21 campaign, the Alabama A&M Sports Information Office is producing a Season in Review for each of the program's 14 sports that competed during the year.
That series will begin with the fall season before progressing to the winter and spring campaigns. Each week reviews will be released on Mondays and Wednesdays until concluding with the final spring sport on Wednesday, July 28 and a Department Season in Review on Monday, August 2.
Today we take a look back at the 2020-21 Men's Tennis season.
2020-21 Men's Tennis
Conference Affiliation: Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Overall/Conference Finish: 2
nd Regular Season/1
st Tournament (Champion)
Final National Ranking: N/A
NCAA: First Round (L, 5-0 at No. 3 Tennessee)
All-Americans: N/A
All-Region/District Selections: CoSIDA Academic All-District: Fermin Ruiz Crespo
All-Conference Selections: N/A
Conference Weekly Honors: N/A
Major Awards and Honors: SWAC Coach of the Year: Willis Mbandi, SWAC Tournament MVP: Natiphat Mulada, SWAC All-Tournament: Natiphat Mulada, Gjorgji Popovski, Divesh Gahlot, Panji Setiawan, ITA Scholar-Athletes: Rodrigo Arana Rios, Natiphat Mulada, Panji Setiawan, Fermin Ruiz Crespo, German Ruiz Crespo
2020-21 Season in Review
- Earned first SWAC Tournament Championship in program history with back-to-back thrilling 4-3 victories over Alcorn State (4/18) and multi-time defending champion Alabama State (4/19).
- Title resulted in first trip to NCAA Division I Tournament in program history. They would fall 5-0 at a No. 3 Tennessee squad that would reach the national semifinals.
- Following six of their first eight matches being postponed, rescheduled or cancelled, the Bulldogs would find themselves sitting at 1-6 on March 7. From there A&M righted the ship and won their next five, the first three being wins over Alcorn State (4-2 on Mar. 12) Prairie View A&M (4-0 on Mar. 13) and a 4-3 nail-biter at Jackson State (Mar. 20). The final two wins of that stretch would come 27 days later.
Individual Achievements/Honors
- Willis Mbandi named SWAC Coach of the Year with Natiphat Mulada earning SWAC Tournament MVP and SWAC All-Tournament, the latter along with Gjorgji Popovski, Divesh Gahlot and Panji Setiawan.
- Fermin Ruiz Crespo became first CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in program history, doing so in the highly competitive At-Large category with features multiple sports.
- Rodrigo Arana Rios, Natiphat Mulada, Panji Setiawan, Fermin Ruiz Crespo and German Ruiz Crespo were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
- Popovski played in all 13 matches, going 6-7 in singles (6-3 at No. 2) and 4-8 at No.2 doubles. Won five straight singles matches from March 12 through April 18, including SWAC Tournament Semifinals and Championships. Clinched semifinal win with 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 decision at No. 2 and had key 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory at second spot in championship.
- Ruiz Crespo went 4-5 in doubles (4-4 at No. 3) and won four straight over Troy, Samford, Belmont and Prairie View.
- Setiawan finished 5-7 in doubles, posting a 5-4 mark at the No. 2 position while winning four consecutive matches from March 13 through April 18. Posted dominant 6-0, 6-1 singles in semifinal win over Alcorn State and 6-2, 6-4 decision at No. 5 vs. rival Alabama State in final.
- Mulada went 6-4 at No. 3 doubles and 5-5 in singles (5-3 at No. 4), winning five straight singles matches from March 12 through April 18. Included 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 4 spot in semifinal win over Alcorn and deciding 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in championship match.
Schedule of Season in Review Releases
Football (June 14)
Women's Soccer (June 16)
Women's Basketball (June 21)
Men's Basketball (June 23)
Women's Indoor Track & Field (June 28)
Men's Indoor Track & Field (June 30)
Bowling (July 5)
Men's Golf (July 7)
Women's Tennis (July 12)
Men's Tennis (July 14)
Men's Outdoor Track & Field (July 19)
Women's Outdoor Track & Field (July 21)
Softball (July 26)
Baseball (July 28)
Athletics (August 2)
