ita rookie of the year
Alex Benichou Blanchard climbed to No. 3 in the ITA national rankings during his first season at Mississippi College. He recorded an overall record of 18-5 and was the GSC Rookie and Player of the Year.
Notable wins for Alex this season include Martin Soukal (St Leo #2 national ranking), Luca Mack (Valdosta), Efe Comu (Rollins), George Russell (Florida Southern), Joau Guariente (AUM), Joaquin Bianchi (UT Tyler), Phil Exner (Ouachita), Francisco Faria (Lee), Sebastian Sotelo and Sebastian Rondon (West Florida) and Lucas Hammond (West Alabama).
Alex portrays outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, which can be seen when he's gone to every women's match and is always the first player to practice and last to leave.
A quote From the Head Coach
“I am proud of Alex for such quick success in college tennis and for his immediate positive impact on our team and culture. Two strengths of Alex: he will not be satisfied with these awards-he will want to reach number one in the country as a team and as an individual and we are already discussing how to improve and accomplish those goals for next season.
He will also credit others for his success and that is a big part of why he is succeeding-huge thanks and credit to Alex’s parents, to his placing agent in France who trusts us to take care of him and his players, and to our team-to each guy who is working to help each other succeed and to represent and grow Mississippi College as the best tennis university in the country. Proud of Alex.” - Head Coach Michael Ward