Highlighting this year’s awards is ITA National Coach of the Year Bob Orr of Lake Land Community College (Mattoon, Ill.). Orr’s Lake Land squad, which is competing at this week’s NJCAA Championships in Plano, Texas, is currently No. 16 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Lake Lake went unbeaten in dual match play this season and recently captured the NJCAA Region 24 title.
The other national awards go to the following players:
ITA Player of the Year – Peter Gordon, Tyler Junior College (Texas)
ITA Rookie of the Year – Emilio Kirby, Johnson County Comm. College (Kan.)
ITA Player to Watch – Dean Clower, Cowley County Comm. College (Kan.)
Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship – Jason Ramos, Collin County Comm. College (Texas), and Phillip Merrill, Vincennes University (Ind.)
ITA National Player of the Year Gordon has led Tyler to a No. 1 Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Ranking this season and is currently ranked No. 5 in singles and No. 2 in doubles. Last October he reached the singles final at the Omni Hotels National Small College Championships. Johnson County newcomer Kirby is No. 13 in the latest national singles rankings. Cowley County’s Clower receives the ITA National Player to Watch Award, which goes to an up-and-coming player expected to climb high in the rankings next season. The Arthur Ashe Award goes to an individual who has displayed outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as notable scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
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Highlighting this year’s awards is Wilson/ITA National College of the Year Dick King of Temple College (Texas). Temple enters this week’s NJCAA National Tournament in College Station, Texas, as the top-ranked team in the latest Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings for NJCAA Division II women’s tennis.
The other national awards go to the following players:
ITA Player of the Year – Juliana Garcia, Broward Community College (Davie, Fla.)
ITA Rookie of the Year – Leslie Stewart, Tyler Junior College (Texas)
ITA Player to Watch - Melisa Cansado, Lewis & Clark Community College (Godfrey, Ill.)
Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship – Rhiannon Roth, North Central Texas College (Gainesville, Texas)