Valette Earns Elite 18 Award; Augusta Men’s Tennis Lands Three on Peach Belt All-Conference Teams – Augusta University

AUGUSTA, Ga. – With the Peach Belt Conference Tournament set to begin tomorrow, the conference office has announced the 2026 men’s tennis all-conference honors. Arthur Valette headlined Augusta’s selections by earning the Peach Belt Conference Elite 18 Award, presented to the student-athlete competing in the championship with the highest cumulative GPA.

A senior from Lyon, France, Valette competed in 18 matches this season for Augusta. He posted a 9-7 singles record and a 6-10 doubles mark, including a 3-3 record in both singles and doubles during conference play.

Augusta also placed three student-athletes on the all-conference teams. David Perret was named Second Team All-Conference Singles, while the doubles tandem of Alexis Bailhache and Perret earned Second Team All-Conference Doubles honors.

Perret, a junior from London, England, has been a key contributor throughout the season in both singles and doubles play. Bailhache, a senior from Nantes, France, teamed with Perret to give the Jaguars a consistent presence in doubles competition.

League major awards were claimed by Thomas Cardona of Columbus State, who was named Player of the Year, and teammate Hugo Didier, who earned Freshman of the Year honors. Columbus State head coach Evan Isaacs was selected Coach of the Year.

PBC Elite 18 Award

Arthur Valette, Augusta

Senior

• The PBC Elite 18 Award is presented at each of the PBC’s 18 championships to the student-athlete competing with the highest cumulative GPA
• Competed in 18 matches this season for Augusta
• Had a 9-7 record in singles and a 6-10 record in doubles
• Ended conference play with a 3-3 singles record and 3-3 doubles record

 

 

First Team All-Conference Singles

Thomas Cardona, Columbus State

Hugo Didier, Columbus State

Aniss Rafiq, Flagler

Ilian Borlee, Flagler

Harry Pugh, Lander

Pedro Liborio, North Georgia

 

First Team All-Conference Doubles

Andrea Sandrone / Elias Peter, Columbus State

Aly El Rafie / Noah Paterson, Flagler

Harry Pugh / Brendan Jayaprakash, Lander

 

Second Team All-Conference Singles

David Perret, Augusta

Aly El Rafie, Flagler

Simon Malis, Flagler

Chase Martin, GCSU

Daniel García Suárez, Middle Georgia

Alejandro Vizoso Ansedes, Middle Georgia

Joao Silva, North Georgia

 

Second Team All-Conference Doubles

Alexis Bailhache / David Perret, Augusta

Daniel Hammond / Benedek Szombathelyi, Columbus State

Juan Cruz Blanco / Ben Brandl, North Georgia

 

Player of the Year: Thomas Cardona, Columbus State

Freshman of the Year: Hugo Didier, Columbus State

Coach of the Year: Evan Isaacs, Columbus State

Elite 18 Award: Arthur Valette, Augusta

 

Augusta opens Peach Belt Conference Tournament play tomorrow against North Georgia in Columbus, Georgia.