Matt Knoll to Receive Tennis National Honor
12/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Dec. 12, 2005
WACO, Texas - Baylor head men's tennis coach and director of tennis operations Matt Knoll will receive the Division I Men's National Coach of the Year Award at the 21st annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Coaches Convention at Doral Golf Resort and Spa on Monday, Dec. 12.
In 2004-05, Knoll guided the Bears to a 33-1 record, a second place NCAA finish and the program's fifth Big 12 Conference title. In addition, the Bears, 2004 NCAA champions, claimed the USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship and senior Benedikt Dorsch won the NCAA singles title. With the win, Dorsch became the second straight BU player under Knoll's tutelage to claim the NCAA singles championship, Benjamin Becker was the 2004 victor.
In his nine years as Baylor's head coach, Knoll has posted an impressive 208-50 (.806) record which includes an amazing 120-7 record over the past four seasons.
The 2005 Wilson/ITA National Coaches of the Year being honored on Monday night are:
Division I Men - Matt Knoll, Baylor
Division I Women - Mark Guilbeau, Virginia (coached at Kentucky in 2004-05)
Division II Men - Derrick Racine, West Florida
Division II Women - Dave Porter, BYU-Hawaii
Division III Men - Tom Cath, DePauw (Ind.)
Division III Women - Cinda Rankin, Washington & Lee (Va.)
NAIA Men - Walt Attaway, Shorter (Ga.)
NAIA Women - Phil White, Southern Nazarene (Okla.)
JC Men - Larry Grose, Cowley County (Kan.)
Calif. JC Women - Rick Morris, Chabot
Nearly 300 men's and women's college tennis coaches at all levels will be gathering for this year's convention at Doral. The four-day convention will be highlighted by some of the most influential people in the sport of tennis. Among this year's clinicians are: featured speaker Brad Gilbert; legendary coach Nick Bollettieri; Dave Porter, BYU-Hawaii tennis coach and immediate past president of the USPTA; and Paul Roetert, managing director for USTA Player Development.
As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Rankings for men's and women's tennis 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 website is www.itatennis.com.
