TOLEDO, Ohio – On April 26, Pawit Sornlaksup was named MAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year and selected First-Team All-MAC. One week later, Cassie Alcala was named MAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year and also made First-Team All-MAC. With those honors, Toledo became the first Mid-American Conference school to bring home both the men's and women's tennis Player of the Year honors in the same season.

Sornlaksup and Alcala, both sophomores, each play No. 1 singles and are part of the No. 1 doubles teams for coaches Al Wermer and Tracy Mauntler. Both led their teams to the finals of the MAC Tournament, where they ultimately lost to the No.1 seeded teams, Western Michigan (men) and Ball State (women). 

A native of Rayong, Thailand, Sornlaksup quarantined for four months without training before he got on the plane to fly 21 hours to the U.S. to begin his first season with the Rockets. His initial goal was to just make it on the 2021-22 roster.

"Pawit's strength and fitness continued to improve month by month since he arrived," Wermer said, "I think that was a huge factor in his improvement."

Sornlaksup wrapped his first Division I season with the Rockets better than he had expected as he established himself as a tough conference competitor. He began this season with an 0-2 record, falling to Ohio State's Cannon Kinglsey and Indiana's Carson Haskins in January. Things began to shift when he recorded his first singles win and helped Toledo to its first match win of the season on Jan. 29 vs Bucknell. Sornlaksup went on to win his next 21 matches from the top court, including all 10 matchups vs. MAC opponents. He finished the season 22-2 (12-0 MAC) in singles and 16-4 (8-0 MAC) in doubles.

"I have good coaches and very good teammates," Sornlaksup said. "They are my background for this success. They help me, and I help them play at their highest level."

"I think through his work habits in our training program, with the exposure to an increasingly-higher level of opponents have been the other largest factors in Pawit's development," Wermer commented. "Most college players, during conversations on the court, vary in their temperament, day-to-day, or certainly under stressful match conditions. Pawit is the calmest, most lucid player I've ever had. He might cheer wildly one second, but inside he's 100 percent a cold-blooded strategist."

Sornlaksup was the first Rocket to earn first team honors since Luna Vitosevic (2016-19) who was selected in 2019. Sornlaksup is also just the second athlete under coach Wermer to be named Player of the Year. Stjpen Sisko (2014-17) who won the award in 2015 and 2016. Finally, Sornlaksup was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team with doubles partner junior Marko Galic.

"I didn't expect that I was going to win this award in the beginning but after I won the first five matches in conference, I started thinking about this and tried my best to get this award. I felt very happy to win this award," Sornlaksup said, "It's like what I have been doing is worth the award. I was tired during the season but after I won, it's like it gives me the energy back to my body."
 
A Pickerington, Ohio native, Alcala finished her second year with Mauntler and the Rockets even more successful than her sparkling freshman debut last season. Alcala was named MAC Freshman of the Year  in 2021 with a 17-4 singles record. She opened this season with a nine-match winning streak until her first loss to West Virginia's Kendall Kovick on Feb. 26. The next day, Alcala took a two-set victory from George Washington's Stella Wisemann (Feb. 27) and went on to win her next seven matches. Alcala's streak was snapped on April 7 by Miami's Brindtha Ramasamy, marking her only conference loss. Alcala would defeat Ramasamy in a rematch on April 15, and again in the semifinals of the MAC Championships on April 30.
 
"None of this would be possible if I didn't have my teammates there to push me during practice every day.," Alcala said. "All of the coaches that I've had the chance to work with have been so helpful to me as well. My competitiveness and consistency has also played a role in my success."

Alcala ended the season with a six-match singles winning streak and ended up with a team-best 23-2 record (11-1 MAC) in singles and 16-9 (6-4 MAC) in doubles. She is grateful to the support system at Toledo that contributed to her success. After every match, road trip and practice, Alcala made a special point to thank her coach.

"There is no one more deserving of this award," Mauntler said. "Cassie has given our program 110 percent since she stepped foot on campus in August of 2020.  I think to back up her MAC Freshman of the Year award from '21 with the MAC Player of the Year award this year just shows her focus and determination. Cassie was meant to play in the college setting. Tennis is such an individual sport for most of your junior career. Cassie has blossomed here at Toledo because of her teammates. She is better because they push her every single day. She also fights harder because they are next to her during competition. Cassie is incredibly humble and genuinely loves tennis, which is so refreshing to be around every day."

Alcala earned first-team accolades for the second time in her career and is Toledo's first women's Player of the Year honoree.

"Being named the Player of the Year means so much to me," Alcala said. "Coming into college, it never even crossed my mind. It's a privilege to have the opportunity to compete at such a high level, and I'm extremely happy with the way that I played this year. While playing at the top singles court, I have the opportunity to play against extremely high-level players. Every match is extremely competitive, so I have to be focused every time I step on the court."