TEMPE, AZ. (May 28, 2026) – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released their final rankings of the year for singles, doubles and overall teams earlier this week. The Rollins College men's tennis program made appearances in the top ten across the board, achieving All-American status for
Lawson Prather, the duo of
Richard Stoiberer and
Pete Tran, and the best program finish in the past twenty seasons.
Freshman
Lawson Prather capped off his star-studded debut in Winter Park with the #6 rank for all singles players. The high mark means that Prather is an All-American, an achievement bestowed only to players within the top twenty. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native's trophy case now includes ITA's National Rookie of the Year, SSC Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-SSC, and his most recent nationwide accolade: All-American.
Prather boosted his resume with a top ten win over Florida Southern's Mario Garoz in the South Region Tournament to give him 15 wins on the solo courts. He also added two more doubles victories in regional play alongside
Nico de Giacomo, totaling 18 on the season, tied for a team best. The last player named as an All-American in his initially playing season for the Tars was Anton Bettink back in 2015. No player has ever been named National Rookie of the Year and an All-American in the same season. There's not much of an argument, Prather orchestrated one of, if not the greatest freshman season in program history.
Joining him with the incredible achievement of All-American are
Richard Stoiberer and
Pete Tran. The tandem finished the season ranked #10 in the ITA's doubles poll. It is the first time since 2012 that the team has had All-Americans on both the singles and doubles courts. For Stoiberer, he exits Winter Park with consecutive seasons as an All-American, joining an elite company of Tars to have multiple across his career. For Tran, the honor is his first in a career that is shaping up to be quite noteworthy. The duo compiled 13 wins from the top line as a pair and earned second team all-conference praise.
Finally, as a team, the Tars slotted in at number four overall for the ITA's final rankings. That's good for the best program finish since 2004. The historical season included 15 wins from the gorgeous Tennis & Golf Center, debuting the renowned facility in the best way possible.
Reflecting on the achievements, head coach
Jay Friedman had this to share with one writer covering the team: "Definitely a nice way to cap it off."
He continued, "I think there's only one thing we didn't achieve this year and that is the thing that only one team achieves every year." Friedman, of course, is referring to a national title, something this year's group fell short on, but a goal the team certainly laid the groundwork for accomplishing in the future.
