JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky University freshman Marek Nano was named the 2026 Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year, while four other Colonels earned postseason honors, the league announced Monday.
 
Nano becomes the third player in program history—and the first since 2013—to earn conference freshman of the year honors. The Slovakia native was also named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team.
 
Senior Fernando Bulnes earned First Team All-ASUN honors, while senior Nuno Pinheiro was named Second Team All-ASUN. Freshman Ilie Cazac joined Nano on the ASUN All-Freshman Team, and senior Kartik Parhar was selected to the Academic All-ASUN Team.
 
EKU finished the regular season 12-14 overall and earned the No. 4 seed in the ASUN Men's Tennis Championship. The Colonels posted a 7-3 record at home and have won three of their last four matches entering postseason play.
 
Nano compiled a 6-3 singles record, primarily competing at No. 2, and went 6-0 against mid-major opponents. He recorded wins over East Tennessee State, Butler, IU Indianapolis, Jacksonville State, Bellarmine and Lipscomb, with three victories coming in straight sets.
 
He was named ASUN Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Jan. 20 after wins over Butler's Nicholas Arts and IU Indianapolis' Konner Gunwall.
 
Bulnes put together the best season of his career, earning First Team All-ASUN honors after posting a team-high 11 singles wins and nine doubles victories for a 20-16 overall dual match record.
 
The Badajoz, Spain native went 11-7 in singles across the top three courts and earned key wins over Middle Tennessee's Karim Al-Amin, the 2026 Conference USA Player of the Year (5-7, 6-3, 7-6), and No. 14 Illinois' Hayden Jones (6-2, 6-4). Both victories led to ASUN Player of the Week honors.
 
Pinheiro, a Portugal native, competed at No. 1 singles throughout the season and recorded seven victories to earn his second career All-ASUN selection and all-conference honors in consecutive seasons.
 
He posted wins over IU Indianapolis, James Madison, Xavier, Tennessee Tech, Furman, Northern Kentucky, and Southern Indiana while facing five nationally ranked opponents.
 
Cazac earned ASUN All-Freshman Team honors after posting an 8-9 singles record, primarily competing at Nos. 3 and 4. The Chisinau, Moldova native earned four wins at No. 3 over Furman, Chattanooga, Northern Kentucky, and Southern Indiana.
 
Parhar, a native of Ludhiana, India, earned Academic All-ASUN honors while carrying a 3.87 GPA as a sports management major. He recorded two singles wins and three doubles victories during the spring season, including two wins at No. 1 doubles.
 
EKU will face host-school No. 5 seed Florida Gulf Coast in the opening round of the ASUN Men's Tennis Championship on April 15 at 9 a.m. ET in Fort Myers, Florida.