March 20, 2012
Courtesy of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Texas men's and Redlands women's tennis teams have been honored as March's recipients of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Sportsmanship Award, the ITA has announced..
The ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award is a monthly award that goes to one men's and one women's team that has exemplified outstanding sportsmanship, character and ethical conduct in the true spirit of competition and collegiate tennis. The winners are selected by the ITA Ethics and Infractions Committee from nominations received from all ITA member institutions (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges).
This monthly award began in 2003. In addition to the obvious reasons, sportsmanship and fair play are considered important in college tennis due to the fact that players make their own line calls during a match.
The University of Texas, a NCAA Division I program, is coached by Michael Center. Center is in his 12th season as the head coach of the Longhorns.
"I am really proud of this team for being recognized by the ITA with this award," Center said. "This is a terrific group. They have worked hard and represent the university and themselves well. This is a well-deserved award for these guys, and we appreciate it very much."
The University of Redlands, a NCAA Division III school, is coached by Geoff Roche. Roche took over both the men's and women's teams in 1999, a position he held until 2003. After a stint as just the men's coach from 2004-09, Roche stepped in as the head coach of both programs once again in 2010.
"We take pride in doing things the right way," Roche stated. "The main thing we focus on is, above everything else, competitive collegiate tennis begins and ends with good sportsmanship."
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 20,000 college varsity student-athletes at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels.
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The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA website is
www.itatennis.com
