Courtesy of the SIAC
Spring Hill’s Fergus O’ Rourke has been named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and headlines the 2022 All-SIAC Team.
The honors, announced Saturday, were determined by votes from the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Divgurjot Singh of Benedict earned this year’s Freshman of the Year honors, and Benedict’s Gary Taylor was named 2022 SIAC Coach of the Year.
Fergus O’Rourke, a redshirt Senior from Dublin, Ireland, went 5-1 in singles play at the No. 1 spot in the SIAC this year. O’Rourke partnered with teammate Sebastien Torres in doubles, and the duo went 6-4 for the season at the No. 3 spot.
Divgurjot Singh enjoyed an outstanding freshman year. In singles play, Singh went undefeated in conference play primarily at the No. 4 spot and finished with an overall record of 11-1. A native of India, Singh also shined in doubles play, with his partner, Killian Surmont. The duo went undefeated in the SIAC and ended the regular season with an overall record of 9-2 with losses from non-conference play.
Benedict’s head coach Gary Taylor led the Tigers to a 10-1 conference record, and 13-4 overall, which earned them the number one seed in the championship tournament. Coach Taylor also had three players earn All-Conference honors in singles play in Mark Chigaazira, Divgurjot Singh, and Killian Surmont.
In its inaugural season, the Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Stacy Sims of Fort Valley State was the first recipient of this award in his respective sport.
The 2022 SIAC Men’s Tennis Championship is set to take place April 9-10 at Peachtree Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga.
Player of the Year
Fergus O’Rourke, Spring Hill
Freshman of the Year
Divgurjot Singh, Benedict
Coach of the Year
Gary Taylor, Benedict
Elite 14 Honoree
Stacy Sims, Fort Valley State
All-Conference Team
| Singles | ||||
| Mark Chigaazira | Benedict | Senior | Harare, Zimbabwe | |
| Paul-Phillip Kern | Spring Hill | R-Freshman | Solingen, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany August-Dicke-Schule | |
| Fergus O’Rourke | Spring Hill | R-Senior | Dublin, Ireland | |
| Divgurjot Singh | Benedict | Freshman | Ludhiana, Punjab, India | |
| Killian Surmont | Benedict | Freshman | Epinay-Sur-Orge,France | |
| Charles Wallace | Spring Hill | Sophomore | Birmingham, AL | |
| Doubles | ||||
| Mark Chigaazira / Batsiraii Saurombe | Benedict | Senior | Harare, Zimbabwe | |
| Fergus O’Rourke / Sebastien Torres | Spring Hill | R-Senior/ Freshman | Dublin, Ireland/Guaynabo, Puerto Rico | |
| Killian Surmont / Divgurjot Singh | Benedict | Freshman/ Freshman | Epinay-Sur-Orge,France/Ludhiana,Punjab, India |
