George Rivers Named ITA D-III Assistant Coach of the Year

George Rivers Named ITA D-III Assistant Coach of the Year

(Story courtesy of Trinity University athletics)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Trinity University men's tennis Assistant Coach George Rivers has been elected the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NCAA Division III Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.

The announcement was made at a banquet Thursday at the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Earlier, Coach Rivers was tabbed as the ITA West Region Assistant Men's Coach.

Coach Rivers is completing his fourth season as the assistant coach to Tiger Head Coach Russell McMindes. During the time period, Trinity has won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs each year of Coach Rivers' tenure.

This season, the Tigers won their 10th consecutive SCAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the 10th year in a row. Thirteenth-ranked Trinity made the NCAA Third Round and finished the campaign with a 17-10 record.

Coaches Rivers and McMindes are in Kalamazoo guiding players Wilson Lambeth and Jordan Pitts, who received bids to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. The individual tournament will be held Friday through Sunday.

A native of Tomball, Texas, Coach Rivers is a 2016 graduate of Indiana University, where he was a letterwinner from 2013-2015. Prior to becoming an Indiana Hoosier, Coach Rivers competed at Tyler (TX) Junior College. He helped lead Tyler to the 2013 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship. Coach Rivers won the 2013 NJCAA Doubles Championship, and was also a Singles finalist that year.