SUWANEE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, Oscar Roy of Southwestern University has been selected the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men’s Tennis Player-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In that same balloting, Jared Perry of Trinity University earned Newcomer-of-the-Year honors and Tigers’ coach, Russell McMindes, was tabbed as Men’s Coach-of-the-Year.
Roy, a junior from Toronto, Ontario, has amassed a 13-4 dual-match record at the No. 1 line for the Pirates and is 12th in the nation in the most recent ITA men’s singles rankings – the highest-ranked player in the SCAC. He has picked up wins against six players ranked in the top 40 in the nation this season, including Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore and Raghav Jangbahadur of Carnegie-Mellon, who were both ranked inside the top 10 at the time he played them. Roy is currently the third ranked singles player in the West Region (also highest among SCAC players) and, partnered with Ashton Ellis and then Joseph Snyman after Ellis had season-ending surgery, combined to post an overall 15-5 doubles mark at the No. 1 line.
Roy’s selection marks the third time a Southwestern student-athlete has earned SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors, following Alexis Dimanche in 2018 and Hunter Bajoit in 2021, who shared the honor that year with Cameron Krimbill of Trinity.
Perry, a first-year from Tucson, Ariz., has played the entire year at #1 singles for the Tigers, earning a top-25 ranking in Division III and a #6 ranking in the West Region. Along with doubles partner Ethan Flores, Perry is also ranked in the top 10 in the region in doubles, compiling a 16-7 doubles record that ranks second on the team in wins. Perry and Flores are undefeated this spring at #2 doubles (7-0). This past fall, Perry and doubles partner Connor Whittington won the ITA Regional Doubles Championship and reached the ITA Cup Doubles Quarterfinals.
Perry is Trinity’s first Newcomer of the Year award-winner since 2021, as well as the sixth overall selection.
In his 15th season at the helm, McMindes led his squad to the program’s 28th SCAC tournament championship, defeating Southwestern, 5-3, in the title match. With the victory, the Trinity men's tennis program holds the most SCAC Championships of any program in conference history. The No. 10 ranked Tigers (16-8), who received the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the conference title two weekends ago, are making their 14th straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and 30th in program history. Trinity opens regional competition on Saturday in Middlebury, Vt., on the campus of Middlebury College against the winner of Friday’s MIT and Bridgewater State.
McMindes has earned at least a share of the Coach-of-the-Year honor in 12 of his prior 14 seasons the award has been presented (no COTY award was made following the 2019-20 season due to COVID).
2024 SCAC MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Oscar Roy, Southwestern University, Junior, Toronto, Ontario
2024 SCAC MEN’S TENNIS NEWCOMER-OF-THE-YEAR
Jared Perry, Trinity University, First-Year, Tucson, Arizona
2024 SCAC MEN’S TENNIS COACH-OF-THE-YEAR
Russell McMindes, Trinity University, 16-8 Overall Record | #2 West Region | SCAC Tournament Champions
To view the entire All-SCAC Men's Tennis team, click here.