GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman men's tennis team had a total of four student-athletes placed on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, it was announced on Tuesday.
Graduate student
Matt Kandel, seniors
Cole Burnam and
John Rado, and sophomore
Walker Allen were each honored with a selection.
Kandel becomes a three-time selection to the CSC Academic All-District Team after receiving the honor twice while at NCAA Division III Williams College. Burnam and Rado were both recognized for the second time in their careers. Allen collects his first career accolade.
Kandel appeared in 20 matches throughout his first season in Greenville, playing at No. 1 and No. 2 singles and No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. A native of Townsend, Mass., he tied for second on the team with eight singles wins and ranked third with nine doubles victories. Kandel ended the season with four consecutive singles triumphs including three in the SoCon Men's Tennis Championship. He picked up conference singles wins over UNC Greensboro, Samford, and Wofford. In doubles, Kandel teamed up with
Elijah Poritzky to record six wins, second-most on the team, playing at the top position. He has a 3.85 GPA and earned his minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies.
A native of Dallas, Texas, Burnam played primarily at doubles this season, registering six wins to rank sixth on the team. Having appeared in 19 matches for the year, he compiled three victories each at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Burnam played primarily with
Connor Laymon at No. 2 doubles and tied for second on the team with six wins and compiled a SoCon victory over Chattanooga. He also played three times in singles at No. 6. Burnam boasts a 3.67 GPA and majored in business administration.
Rado, a Los Altos, Calif., native, played in 20 matches this year for the Paladins and tied for second on the team with eight singles wins. Rado appeared in 20 matches and played primarily at No. 3 singles, picking up four wins. He also played at No. 2 and No. 4 singles. Rado went a team best 5-1 in SoCon play after recording victories over The Citadel, Samford, Mercer, Chattanooga, and East Tennessee State. He played three times in doubles and recorded a win at the No. 1 spot with Poritzky. Rado has compiled a 3.52 GPA and majored in business administration.
Allen, who hails from Cumming, Ga., appeared in 20 matches for Furman in 2025 and led the team singles victories. He went 13-6 in singles competition and played at four spots including No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6. Allen posted an undefeated 5-0 record at No. 5 while compiling a 4-1 mark in the SoCon. He collected conference wins versus The Citadel, UNC Greensboro, Samford, and Wofford. Allen recorded two doubles victories at No. 3 with
Sam Fancutt. He has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is majoring in physics.
Nominations and voting for the CSC Academic All-America programs are conducted by members of the College Sports Communicators, formerly College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
CSC Academic All-District Team selections were required to have posted a 3.50 or better GPA, completed at least two semesters at their current school, played in at least half their team's competitions and be considered a starter or key contributor. Freshmen student-athletes were not eligible.
Each school was also limited in the number of selections it could nominate for each sport.
