Michael Maciel, the All-Heartland Conference selection, has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's South Central Region Rookie of the Year.
Â
Maciel, a Sugar Land, Texas native, starred in his first year for the Rattlers, leading the young squad to the cusp of the program's first-ever Heartland Conference championship. St. Mary's dropped the title match 5-3 to St. Edward's.
Â
Maciel was 17-8 in singles play this season, including 11-6 in dual play. He began the year as the Rattlers' No. 1 singles player, going 5-5, before moving to the No. 2 slot, where he was nearly unbeatable with a 6-1 record.
Â
He was the Heartland's highest-ranked singles player nationally for much of the season, ranking No. 48 for much of the year.Â