AUSTIN, Texas — The College Sports Communicators has announced the 2023 Men’s Tennis Academic All-America team, and for the first time in the history of the program, a Lobo men’s tennis player is on the list. Alex Maggs, a senior from Birmingham, England, has been named a Second Team Academic All-America selection, becoming the first men’s tennis player in Lobo history to be so honored.
“I’m so proud of Alex and the womrk he has done on the court and in the classroom,” said head coach Chris Russell. “To be the first men’s tennis player in the history of a program such as ours, with its rich history, is a tremendous accomplishment. Alex truly leads by example, and he embodies what we want for the student-athletes to achieve in our program.”
Overall, there were 18 student-athletes named to the three teams, with seven on the first team, five on the second, and three on the third. Maggs was the only Mountain West player honored, and he was one of just six to come from non-Power Five conferences. 2023 marks the first year that the CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America program has had a men’s tennis team named. Previously from 1968 to last year, men’s tennis players were selected onto an at-large team with student-athletes from several other sports.
In order to earn Academic All-America, a student-athletes must be a starter of important reserve on a team and have a grade point average of at least 3.50. Maggs more than fit that bill. Alex earned All-Mountain West honors in doubles, going unbeaten in conference play at 5-0 in helping UNM to a Mountain West regular season title. Maggs overall went 16-11 in doubles, leading the team in wins. In singles, he was 13-4 overall, including 8-1 in the spring dual season. His 29-15 overall record was the best in terms of winning percentage (.659) on the team.
Maggs joins Jadyn Edwards of women’s soccer as 2022-23 Academic All-Americans. Aside for the two seasons that were affected by COVID, the Lobos have had at least two CSC Academic All-Americans in every year going back to the 2000-01 academic year.