TEMPE, Ariz.  The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in a Thursday release announced that Methodist University freshman Jordan Theron has been named the ITA Division III Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year. He has also been tabbed the national organization's D-III Atlantic South Region rookie of the year.

Methodist head coach Kemper Baker said of Theron, "(his) actions and willingness to work, resulted in perhaps the most impressive freshman campaign that I have ever witnessed. Your improvement and ability to integrate into your new team and surroundings were nothing short of remarkable."

Theron had a stellar first season for the Monarchs, earning USA South Athletic Conference 2021 Player and Rookie of the Year honors while also collecting a first-team all-conference selection.

In the postseason, Theron received an invitation to the NCAA 2021 Men's D-III Singles Tournament where he faced the 32-player bracket's No. 2 seed in the opening round. Though he fell in two sets (4-6, 2-6), Theron finished the year ranked No. 7 in the ITA D-III men's singles rankings, earning an ITA D-III First-Team All-American honor, the program's first since 2008 and only the third in program history.

Playing all 15 of the Monarchs' regular-season dual matches at the 1-singles position, Theron posted a 12-3 mark overall and a 4-0 record within conference action, and finished the regular season on a seven-match win streak. His only losses in the regular season were to D-I and D-II opponents, but he also counts wins against the No. 1 players from The Citadel (D-I), Barton College (D-II) and Lenoir-Rhyne University (D-II).

Theron also secured a spot on the 2020-21 USA South All-Academic Team.