BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Gulf South Conference announced the 2013 Men's Tennis All-GSC Team on Thursday, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Jose Soto landed on the squad to make it the third year in a row that a Charger has been recognized as one of the league's best men's tennis players.
 
Soto played the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles, and the Sevilla, Spain, native posted a mark of 14-8 in both. He was strong in conference play, also, as he went 4-3 in doubles while he was 3-4 in singles as he competed against the best opponents from the other league institutions.
 
The sophomore reeled off a seven-match winning streak in doubles play that saw his pairing win over the nation's 20th-ranked duo from Nebraska Kearney, and he also had a strong stretch in singles play during which he won nine of 11 matches.
 
Helping propel the team to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010, Soto won 6-1, 7-6 (5) against Delta State in the GSC tournament quarterfinals to help the Chargers to a key 5-4 victory. Other significant wins included a pair of 6-0, 6-0 victories while adding another pair of triumphs in which he allowed the opposition only one or two games.
 
West Florida took home both the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year in Bruno Savi and Derrick Racine, respectively, while Valdosta State's Joachim Schemm captured the Freshman of the Year honor.
 
Voting for the team was conducted by the league's head coaches.
 
Soto and his teammates will continue play on Saturday when they face Stillman in the opening round of the NCAA South Regional 1 at Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla. The match is slated to start at 8 a.m. CDT.