(Photo courtesy of Joshua Moczygemba)
(Portions of this story courtesy of Trinity University)
SKILLMAN, N.J. - Trinity University men's tennis Coach Russell McMindes and senior Nico Moreno have received high honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Coach McMindes was selected as the ITA West Region Division III Men's Coach of the Year. Moreno was presented the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award.
In his fifth year at the Tigers helm, Coach McMindes has guided the eighth-ranked Trinity team to the NCAA Championship tournament for the fifth consecutive year. Trinity (24-6) will take on second-ranked Washington University-St. Louis on Monday in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Claremont, California. The Tigers will make their second straight appearance in the final eight, and fourth in the past five years, all under the leadership of Coach McMindes.
The Tigers earlier shut out Grinnell College 5-0 and defeated host Gustavus Adolphus College 5-3 last week in the Regional tournament at St. Peter, Minnesota. Trinity also captured its fifth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. Coach McMindes was elected SCAC Coach of the Year for the fifth straight time.
The Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, named after the late tennis great, goes to players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
On the court, Moreno stands at 13-12 in dual-match singles competition, and has a 17-11 doubles record with sophomore Paxton Deuel.
Moreno worked on a number of projects with the Trinity University Volunteer Action Community. He assisted in building gardens, cleaning parks, visiting animal shelters, and with canned food drives for the San Antonio Food Bank.
He also joined the Latino Exchange, as a way to help people on campus try to integrate the Latino community with the entire Trinity student body. A food drive was also conducted for the state of Guerrero in Mexico, for communities battered by Hurricane Manuel.
Last year, Trinity Assistant Coach Erick DelaFuente received the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship National Award as a senior.
