Athlete of the Year Nominee: Alex Rybakov

TCU is quickly becoming a force on the collegiate tennis circuit. Guys like Cam Norrie, now a rising star at the professional level, and Nick Chappell, who is entering his fifth season on the professional tour, have helped to set the tone for the Frogs’ rise to prominence under the guidance of coach - and former Frog - David Roditi.

After losing Norrie to the pro circuit, it would have been easy to expect the tennis Frogs to take a step back. But, that was not the case, thanks to the efforts of Rybakov and others. A rising senior, the Coral Springs, FL native has a list of accolades that would make any Big 12 athlete swoon, including multiple Big 12 conference honors and ITA All-American nods. Last season alone, playing as the no. 1 for the Horned Frogs, he was a an All-American as both a singles and doubles player - just the fifth time a TCU player has earned those honors in the same season. He also was an All-Big 12 team member for both singles and doubles - the third time he has accomplished that feat - and was a top-8 seed in the NCAA Championship.

Rybakov won 37 total matches as a junior, 19 playing singles and another 18 playing doubles, helping the Horned Frogs to the regular season Big 12 Championship. He is also accomplished off the court, being named an Academic All-Conference player and TCU’s Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year.

His pathway to success has not been without hard work, but the former number one overall recruit in the class of 2015 continues to make the most of his opportunities - and that’s a great thing for TCU Tennis.With a 63-14 career mark and a 20-5 record as TCU’s #1 seed, Alex will be expected to lead the program on another championship run as a senior.

All of this and more is why Alex is a nominee for TCU’s 2017-2018 Athlete of the Year.