May 14, 2002
WACO, Texas - Baylor's men's tennis program received four Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional awards following its Big 12 championship season, the ITA announced Monday. Head coach Matt Knoll was named the Region VI Wilson ITA Coach of the Year, and assistant Sam Winterbotham received the Region VI ITA Assistant Coach of the Year honor. Freshman Benjamin Becker was selected the Region VI ITA Rookie Player of the Year and the Region VI ITA Player to Watch.
The three Baylor awardees are all in the running for the ITA's national awards, which will be announced Thurs., May 23 in College Station, from each of the seven regional winners.
Knoll earned his first Regional Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Bears to Big 12 Conference and Big 12 Tournament championships with an undefeated 7-0 mark. In addition, the Bears are ranked No. 4 nationally and have won a school-record 18 straight matches and have posted a school-record 27 victories. In his six seasons at Baylor, Knoll has guided the Bears to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Big 12 championships.
Winterbotham earned regional Assistant Coach of the Year honors in just his second season as a full-time coach at Baylor. Winterbotham is the second Baylor assistant coach to earn the honor. Former Baylor assistant Kevin Kowalik, now head coach at Wichita State, was the region's assistant coach of the year in 1998.
Becker, a freshman from Orscholz, Germany, has been impressive in his first season with the Baylor tennis program. His selection as regional Rookie of the Year and regional Player to Watch marks the first time a Baylor player has snagged those two honors in the same season. Becker is currently ranked ninth nationally and is 36-7 on the season in singles and has won 15 straight matches. In addition, Becker and Zoltan Papp are 14-0 in doubles in dual match competition and are 15-1 on the season. Becker has been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament in singles.
The Bears have advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament after chalking up two road wins in first and second round action of NCAA Tournament competition. Baylor is 27-1 on the season and has won 18 straight matches.
