IRVING — Tomas Stillman was named Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Month for September, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Stillman started his fall campaign with a bang by winning the Rice Invitational singles title from Sept. 19-21 in Houston. The senior reeled off six consecutive wins in the bracket, including upsetting the No. 2 seed and No. 112-ranked ITA singles player, Tony Lupieri of Baylor, with a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 11-9 victory in the semifinal round. Stillman then swept Rice's David Warren, 6-4, 6-3, in the championship match to claim the crown.
The Harlingen native has continued his winning ways through the first four days of the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
He posted three wins in the Pre-Qualifying Bracket to secure a spot in the Qualifying Singles Draw. Stillman then defeated No. 119-ranked Sasha Gozun of South Florida, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round on Monday and upset No. 64 Dusty Boyer of Nebraska, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round on Tuesday.
Stillman will face Vanderbilt's Rhys Johnson in the third round on Wednesday for a spot in the Main Singles Draw of the tournament, which continues through Oct. 6.
As of Sept. 30, Stillman has posted a perfect 11-0 record in singles matches with a trio of upsets over nationally-ranked foes.
Wednesday marked the second league honor for Stillman, as he was named C-USA Athlete of the Week last spring on March 11.