GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the 2025-26 season, Henry Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn competed a majority of the year together for doubles. In the spring, the duo was Florida’s go to on court one, with Jefferson and Nirundorn also adding their talents across all the courts in singles.
For their performances throughout the year, both Jefferson and Nirundorn were awarded ITA Regional Awards. Jefferson claimed the Southeast Regional ITA Player to Watch Award and Nirundorn was named the Southeast Regional ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award.
The ITA Player to Watch Award is given to a returning player that is expected to have an outstanding collegiate year next season and is expected to be one of the top returning regional players. In his junior season, Jefferson compiled a 22-17 record in singles and a 22-15 record in doubles. In the dual season he went 14-12 in both singles and doubles and ended the year ranked at No. 13 in doubles with Nirundorn and was ranked at No. 73 in singles. Jefferson reached a career high ranking of No. 29 in singles and No. 6 in doubles after earning All-American status and reaching the NCAA Doubles semifinals. Prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, Jefferson was ranked at No. 33 in doubles with Nirundorn and was not ranked in singles, showing his improvement and value within the Gators lineup.
The ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award is presented to a player that has showed extraordinary commitment and dedication to their team throughout the season, while also being a leader on and off the court. In his final year with the Gators, Nirundorn showed his leadership and commitment to the Gators every way he could. While he found the most success in doubles with Jefferson, Nirundorn was paired with several other Gators as well and still accumulated a doubles record of 23-15. Like Jefferson, Nirundorn was awarded All-American status for reaching the NCAA Doubles semifinals in the fall, becoming the first All-Americans for the Gators since 2023. Being the only senior on the team that has been with Florida since his freshman season, Nirundorn taught his younger teammates what it meant to be a Gator and was a steady form of leadership for the team in his final season. Although he did not play singles as much as the other players, Nirundorn provided support to his teammates in the practices throughout the week and provided encouragement on the sidelines throughout the matches.
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL ITA AWARDS
Award
Winner
School
ITA Dunlop Coach of the Year
Lloyd Bruce-Burgess
UCF
ITA Assistant Coach of the Year
Bryce Warren
Georgia
Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship
Corey Craig
Florida State
ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship
Tanapatt Nirundorn
Florida
ITA Most Improved Player
Will Jansen
Georgia
ITA Player to Watch
Henry Jefferson
Florida
ITA Rookie of the Year
Noah Johnston
Georgia
ITA Senior Player of the Year
Yassine Dlimi
UCF