Kmet, Nunez Headline WAC Men's Tennis Honors

ABILENE – Abilene Christian junior Dario Kmet and head coach Juan Nunez headline a strong list of Wildcats selected for postseason Western Athletic Conference honors, the league announced on Wednesday.
 
Kmet, a junior from Sydney, Australia, received Men's Player of the Year and Nunez was voted Coach of the Year.
 
Kmet and Cesar Barranquero earned first-team All-Conference singles with Mihaly Deli named to the second team. The league coaches selected Savan Chhabra and Ethan Scribner for first-team doubles.
 
Kmet, who won WAC Player of the Week for every week of conference matches, was 5-0 against the league with all five matches coming at No. 1 singles. He was 10-6 overall this spring.
 
"It's fun to see all of your players get rewarded whoever it is, but Dario dealt with a back injury and was out for almost three weeks," said Nunez. "That dude is such a big competitor and he found ways to win and once the conference schedule started there was just a different switch that came on. He likes that challenge. This is a stamp on what he's been doing since last semester."
 
Nunez, in his third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, navigated a one-senior team through a rash of injuries to a 4-1 conference record and a 13-10 overall record. The Wildcats played four Power-5 matches, often short of two or three players who could have made a difference.
 
"I didn't see it coming but it obviously feels good to get some sort of recognition," Nunez said. "The reality is that you're not Coach of the Year without an incredible group of guys and the staff of Matias (Montanes) and Jeff (Guerrero). This was a crazy season with a lot of ups and downs but those guys just stepped up. Every single one of them from the freshmen and guys who have been there to Jeff and Matias. Coach of the Year is just another way of telling the guys how good they are at what they do. They just put my name on it. It wouldn't have happened without my wife. Life's been hard the last year and a half but she's always made me feel like this is what I need to be doing. She's almost like a coach of the team herself."
 
Barranquero, a sophomore from Villaescusa, Spain, was 4-1 against the WAC, mostly at No. 3 singles. He led the team with 11 singles wins this season.
 
"Cesar and Dario have been our constant, steady guys," said Nunez of the first-team singles honorees. Ironically enough, they were down for three weeks this year but we had them healthy by the time conference started and took care of things the way they usually do. They faced a lot of adversity and injury and I'm so proud of the way they competed."
 
Deli, a junior from Budapest, Hungary, fashioned a 4-1 WAC record while going 10-6 overall.
 
"This is really special for Mishy," said Nunez. "He figured out ways to get himself back into matches and for him to establish himself at the No. 6 and have success after what he had been through is incredible. He's not content with what he's doing and I'm incredibly proud of him to have turned around and accomplish this and win the matches."
 
Chhabra, a senior from Irving, and Scribner, a freshman from Plano were 4-1 against the league and had a 14-7 overall record as a tandem.
 
"That's just incredible to me; to see the combination of a senior and a freshman be able to accomplish that," Nunez said. "Great ambassadors of Texas tennis. At first, they were a little hesitant when I tried that pairing and it has been fun to watch them become a really good team and see them be there for each other. Savan is a senior and will leave here as a first-team All-Conference and Ethan is a freshman who has taken ownership and been successful."
 
While they didn't receive rewards, Nunez wanted to make mention of three other big contributors to the program: Daniel Morozov, Benjamin McDonald and Jose Maria Rastrojo.
 
"Dani should be there and I think he will be there next year and he's been an incredible leader," said Nunez. "His energy was incredible while Dario was struggling to get back.  Ben didn't get an award but he's been a pivotal part of the team. He has become a leader and he's a great teammate who makes everybody better. Jose has had a really hard year but if there was an All-Conference injured player, he would be by far first team. He comes and watches every practice and does his treatments. He shows up every day at practice and meetings and his presence has been incredible."
 
The Cats have a bye to the second round of the WAC Tournament and take the court on Friday at 3 p.m. in Arlington.