Alex Okonkwo Named to Singles All-Conference Team
4/30/2025 2:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
IRVING, Texas — After a fantastic sophomore season as Tulsa's No. 1 singles player, Golden Hurricane men's tennis standout Alex Okonkwo has been tabbed to the American Athletic Conference Singles All-Conference Team, the league announced Wednesday.
Men's tennis all-conference honors were awarded to the top six singles players and top three doubles teams (including ties in voting) based on a combination of the April 22 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings and coaches' vote.
Hailing from Maidenhead, England, Okonkwo makes the cut as the country's 103rd-ranked singles player and stands as the third highest-ranked athlete in The American. He went 23-12 overall and 13-8 in dual matches for TU. He finished the year with four consecutive wins at Singles No. 1 and wins in eight of his last 10 matches.
Sending Okonkwo back to the ITA singles rankings for the first time since Nov. 15, 2023, was a monumental 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) road win over the country's then-26th-ranked player Paul Inchauspe of Princeton. From there, Okonkwo maintained a spot on the ITA poll for rest of the season, adding wins against No. 67 Isaac Becroft (Oklahoma State) and No. 124 Connor Gannon (Memphis).
One of Okonkwo's defining wins this season came against Oregon in the first round of ITA Kickoff Weekend. Down 3-1 with the doubles point, Tulsa's singles lineup clapped back to tie up the match at three points all. With all eyes on Okonkwo, he closed out a long three-set battle at 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) to end the weekend on a high note.
Player of the Year
Hugo Car, Sr., South Florida
Freshman of the Year
Gughi Verdese, South Florida
Coach of the Year
Efe Ustundag, Rice
All-Conference Team
Singles
John Bernard, Sr., Florida Atlantic
Pablo Alemany, Sr., Memphis
Conor Gannon, Sr., Memphis
Petro Kuzmenok, So., Rice
Hugo Car, Sr., South Florida
Tiago Torres, Sr., UTSA
Alex Okonkwo, So., Tulsa
Doubles
Santiago Navarro (Jr.)/Petro Kuzmenok (So.), Rice
Vasco Prata (Jr.)/Matias Iturbe (Sr.), Charlotte
Hugo Car (Sr.)/Ettore Danesi (Fr.), South Florida
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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