Grace College men’s tennis head coach Andy Lewis addresses his team during a championship season. Photo provided

By Josh Neuhart
Grace College Sports Information

WINONA LAKE – Grace’s men’s tennis team earned numerous national honors after enjoying arguably the best season in program history.

Andy Lewis was named the NCCAA National Coach of the Year after leading the Lancers to the 2021 NCCAA national championship. It marked the first national title in program history.

Max Rozas was named NCCAA First Team All-American and NAIA Second Team All-American after playing as Grace’s No. 1 singles player for the third straight season.

Rozas is Grace’s first NAIA All-American honoree since Daniel Sanchez in 2015.

Facundo Paredes and David Sandi were both NCCAA Second Team All-Americans. Paredes and Rozas were also named to the NCCAA All-Tournament Team for their championship winning performances.

Grace finished the season with a sterling 26-6 record, shattering the program record for wins in a season. The Lancers won nine straight games in the spring, culminating with the NCCAA championship win over Judson.

The ninth consecutive win was against No. 21 Southeastern in the NAIA National Championships. Grace was making its first trip to NAIAs as a full team since 1988. The Lancers lost in the next round to eventual national champion and No. 1-ranked Georgia Gwinnett.

At the end of the season, Grace was given the No. 15 ranking in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Lancers are poised for another big season next year as the squad returns nearly the entire lineup from the spring.

In the classroom, Grace had five players achieve NCCAA Scholar-Athlete status including: Kye Barrett, Sandi, Nicolas Graber, Jacob Gray and Pavle Popovic.