DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kennesaw State rising senior men's tennis player Simon Pritchard was named the 2016 Atlantic Sun Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year, as Commissioner Ted Gumbart announced the conference's postseason awards Wednesday night.

The announcements of the ASUN Winners for Life teams, the ASUN Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year, a pair of ASUN Postgraduate Scholarship selections, and the ASUN All-Sports Champions came during the conference's annual meetings at The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A two-time ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2015, 2016) and ASUN All-Academic Team member, Pritchard boasts a 4.0 GPA majoring in economics. He has earned membership to the President's List in each semester of his career at Kennesaw State and is also a two-year member of KSU's Coles Scholar Program (2015, 2016), a program that only accepts the top 20 business students in the Coles College of Business. He is also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.

"This is obviously a big award for Simon and I'm proud of him," said director of tennis Eduardo Rincon. "He's a great leader, and someone that takes his academics and his tennis very seriously. I know he's looking forward to improving and working hard to accomplish both team and individual goals for his senior year. He's a captain and it's like having another coach on the court. We're fortunate to have him as an Owl."
 
On the court he has served as team captain for three years and played at the No. 1 position for the Owls since his freshman year, when he earned a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman Team. The winningest player in school history, Pritchard has been ranked in the ITA's Top 100 and is a three-time first-team All-Conference selection and a 2014 ITA Scholar Athlete. As a junior he was honored as the member of the ASUN All-Conference Doubles Team of the Year (No. 2) and has collected ASUN Player of the Week honors as well.

"I'm extremely honored to win this award," said Pritchard, a native of Newport, Wales. "To think the ASUN chose me out of everyone else in the conference is extremely humbling. Kennesaw State itself has so many talented student-athletes, let alone all of the other schools in the conference, so I'm truly grateful to win this award. A huge amount of credit needs to go to Coach Rincon and my teammates. Coach and the guys really have been pivotal to everything I've done so far at KSU and I'm extremely appreciative of their support."
 
During his career he has also invested in local schools, taking time regularly to read to elementary students along with reading encouragement during Million Word pep rallies. Additionally he has worked with students in physical education classes and served local organizations such as MUST Ministries, in which he assisted with setup of a toy shop and service in the community kitchen.
 
Pritchard was also selected as an ASUN Winner for Life, joining fellow Owls Bilal Abdullah (track & field) and Kristi Piedmonte (volleyball).

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's tennis news follow the team on Twitter@KSUOwlNation and @KSUMensTennis or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
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