ITA Announces 2011 NCAA Division III National Award Winners

ITA Announces 2011 NCAA Division III National Award Winners

SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the national award winners for NCAA Division III tennis. Highlighting this year's awards are the Wilson/ITA National Coaches of the Year: Marty Perry of the University of Chicago (men) and Luciano Battaglini of Carleton College (women) and the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and SSportsmanship: Michael Rardon of DePauw University (men) and Kristin Cobb of Denison University (women).

This year's ITA national award winners are:

 

2011 Men's Award Winners:

Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year - Marty Perry, University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year - Payum Payman, Brandeis University (Waltham, MA)

ITA/Farnsworth National Senior Player of the Year - Stephen Sullivan, Bowdoin College (Coral Gables, FL)

ITA National Rookie of the Year - Chris Wiechert, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Eugene, OR)

ITA National Player to Watch - Erich Koenig, University of California-Santa Cruz (Los Angeles, CA)
 ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship - Michael Rardon, DePauw University (Indianapolis, IN)

 

2011 Women's Award Winners: 
Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year - Luciano Battaglini, Carleton College (Brasilia, Brazil)

ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year - Taka Bertrand, University of Chicago (Great Falls, VA)
ITA National Senior Player of the Year - Julia Browne, Tufts University (Medford, MA)
ITA National Rookie of the Year - Crystal Lim, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Orange, CA)

ITA National Player to Watch - Kellen Alberstone, Bowdoin College (Tarzana, CA)
ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship - Kristin Cobb, Denison University(Dayton, OH)


2011 Wilson/ITA Men's National Coach of the Year, Marty Perry, was named the  2010 Wilson/ITA Women's Coach of the Year, which highlights his successful versatility. While Perry's women's team has recently been among the nation's elite, he has steadily been improving his men's team over the past couple of year. However, this year he has guided them to a tremendous breakthrough, moving into the top 10 of the Campbell/ITA National Rankings and the top two in the Campbell/ITA Regional Rankings. 

Luciano Battaglini, the 2011 Wilson/ITA National Women's Coach of the Year, may only be in his 4th year as a head coach but he has made unbelievable strides since arriving at Carleton. In 2008, Battaglini took over a team that was unranked in the Campbell/ITA Regional Rankings, and just four years later, has led the Knights into the top 20 in the Campbell/ITA National Rankings.  

 

2011 National Men's ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, Michael Rardon, is team captain and the No. 1 singles player on an incredibly young DePauw team. Though only a junior, this captain knows he must act as a good representative for his more inexperienced teammates, through hard work ethic, sportsmanship and the ability to build team unity. From losing a few tough matches and overcoming injuries to facing much bigger issues, he has encouraged the squad to embrace each other, creating a sense of brotherhood that goes beyond being just teammates. After learning that their head coach was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, Rardon spearheaded a campus effort to raise money for a foundation awareness for early-onset Parkinson's. Additionally, when one of his teammates' mothers suffered a brain aneurysm, Michael organized a cookout at his apartment for the men's and women's teams and their parents to attend in an effort to get together physically and emotionally in support of his teammate's family. It should also be noted, that the young man even served as chef for the event.

Kristin Cobb, the 2011 National Women's ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship,has also been recognized as a four-time ITA All-American in both singles and doubles. However, she admits to being most proud of winning the "Heart of the Team Award", which is awarded to the Denison student-athlete who best exemplifies support and dedication to their teammates. Cobb finds it truly rewarding to embrace the idea of community and helping others through service and has over the years, having been a volunteer at Special Olympics, traveled to both China and Guatemala to help underprivileged children, and also served as a Big Brothers, Big Sisters mentor. Whether on the court or in life, this senior has found that the more you give the more you get back in return.

For a full list of NCAA Division III Regional award winners, visit www.itatennis.com.

 

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches representing over 1,200 institutions, administers numerous regional and national championships and the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings for over 15,000 college varsity student-athletes at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA web site is www.itatennis.com.
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