The time has come to honor the best tennis players in the country at the D2 level with the honorees for HERO of The Week. Each week we will have a list of nominees for you to vote for that stood out in competition over the week prior.
Voting will take place in the poll at the bottom of this article following the list of nominees. Voting only takes place in the poll, and the voting will close on Friday at 10:00 a.m. PST for each poll.
Without further ado, here are the nominees for HERO of The Week!
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Nicolas Lecoutre, West Florida
In a dual match between two ranked programs, Lecoutre started the day off for the Argos in stunning fashion, knocking off the 2nd ranked singles player in D2 in straight sets. Winning 7-5, 6-4, this marks the fifth singles win of the season for the UWF standout,
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Angel Palacios, Midwestern State
In a dual match with Metro State, Palacios was nearly upset before coming back to win in three sets. The 26th ranked singles player in D2, the MSU Mustang dropped the first set 3-6 before claiming the final two.
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Julen Gutierrez / Stefan Svicevic, Cameron
The Aggies' second pairing pulled off a big win vs Drury, knocking off the 17th ranked pairing from DU in an 8-6 finish. This marks the pairs second win over a ranked opponent of the year and should get them back into the rankings themselves.
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Thomas Grinberg, Saint Leo
The number one overall player in D2 to this point, Grinberg continued his dominant play as the Lions took on top ranked Barry in a dual match between SSC rivals. Grinberg got things started with a straight set sweep, and finished his day with a doubles win as well.
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Javier Villar, Young Harris
Villar had a tough match, but came away with a win to help YHC in their overall 5-4 team win over North Georgia. In the fourth singles match of the day, Villar came back following a first set loss to win the last two and give the Mountain Lions just their second singles victory.
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Axel Cronje, Lander
Unlike some of our other nominees, Cronje had a relatively easy day in a straight set win over his opponent from USC-Aiken. In both sets, Cronje won every game and never dropped a single point in his successful day on the court.
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Paul Haase, Washburn
Against power program Saint Leo, Haase had a spectacular showing in knocking off 68th-ranked Bruno Babic in singles play. Though the Ichabods star dropped the second set in a bid for a sweep, he won the deciding third by a tally of 10-8.
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VOTE: D2 Men’s Tennis HERO of The Week (4)
