SUWANEE, Ga. -- The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announce the 2023 ITA Division III Men’s and Women’s Regional Award recipients last week and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) racked up three major awards. Full ITA Men's Release | Full ITA Women's Release
Southwestern University head coach Billy Porter was named the Wilson ITA West Regional Men’s Coach of the Year and Trinity University’s Hao Nguyen earned ITA Senior Player of the Year. On the women’s side, Trinity head coach Drew Cohn was selected the Wilson ITA West Regional Women’s Coach of the Year.
Every year the ITA recognizes coaches and players for their excellence on the court and in their communities throughout the season.
The Division III Playing Awards include: Wilson ITA Coach of the Year, ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA Most Improved Senior, ITA Senior Player of the Year, and ITA Community Service Award.
The national award winners will be announced next Wednesday, June 7th.
Porter, who just wrapped up his 10th Season as head coach for the Pirates, led his squad to an undefeated SCAC regular season mark (6-0), which included the program's first victory over Trinity in four years. The Pirates defeated the Tigers, 5-4, on their home courts on April 14, five years to the day since their last victory over the program from San Antonio. Despite falling short to the No. 11 Tigers in the conference tournament, Porter led Southwestern (18-6) to as high as a No. 15 national ranking (currently 18th) this season and coached Ashton Ellis and Oscar Roy to the 2022 ITA Southwest Regional Doubles Championship in the fall – a program-first on the men's side.
Nguyen was selected for the NCAA III Singles Championship for the first time in his career this season, though he was knocked out in the first round of the tournament by the fourth-seeded Phuc Huynh of Washington University-St. Louis. Nguyen was the SCAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year this season and finished with a No. 30 singles ranking nationally. He was also the sixth-ranked singles player in the West Region and was one of three Tiger players ranked in the regional top 25.
Coach Cohn wrapped up his third season with the Tigers and has led the team to back-to-back SCAC titles and NCAA III Playoff appearances. He was previously the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2017 while coaching at his alma mater Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA). Trinity finished the season ranked 14th nationally and third in the West Region according to the final rankings of the 2022-23 season. The Tigers won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons and finished with a 16-5 record this year.
