CHARLESTON, S.C. -- College of Charleston women’s tennis coach Angelo Anastopoulo, who led the Cougars to the Southern Conference championship and the NCAA Tournament, has been named the Southeast Women's Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The Southeast is made up of NCAA Division I schools from South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the ITA,” said Anastopoulo, who was also tabbed the Southern Division College Coach of the Year by the USPTA in May. “However, the credit has to go to this team, and a very supportive athletic director and administration. These student-athletes worked extremely hard on the court, weight room and classroom to achieve the success we had this past season.”
Anastopoulo led Charleston to a 24-5 record this past season and the Southern Conference Tournament championship. The Cougars dropped a 4-1 decision at No. 15 Florida in the opening round of the NCAA Championships.
Anastopoulo, who just completed his 18th year as the women’s tennis coach, spent his first 10 years at the College coaching both the men’s and women’s teams. He has a 503-201 overall mark, which includes a 331-122 record with the women’s team and a 172-79 mark with the men’s squad.
Comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's coaches representing over 1,200 institutions across the country from all three NCAA Divisions, as well as the NAIA and Junior and Community Colleges, the ITA oversees activities involving over 15,000 varsity college student-athletes. In addition to ITA collegiate coach members, the ITA welcomes collegiate varsity players, junior players, corporate, and affiliated membership of alumni, associate, college parents, conferences & associations, international federations, junior family and professional.
Long recognized as one of the best organized collegiate sports associations, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association is a non-profit service organization, which serves as the governing body of collegiate tennis in the United States. Administering a comprehensive calendar of tournaments and events and a far-reaching awards program, the ITA’s goal is to improve the level of intercollegiate tennis competition and the quality of college tennis coaching.
ITA regional winners:
Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year
Southeast - Angelo Anastopoulo, College of Charleston
East - Paul Wardlaw, Brown
South - Jenny Mainz, Alabama
Midwest - Mark Ardizzone, DePaul
Central - Dean Orford, Tulsa
Southwest - Tony Minnis, LSU
Northwest - Jill Hultquist, Washington
West - Richard Gallien, Southern Cal
At-Large - Jeff Wallace, Georgia