Skillman, N.J. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its annual NCAA Division II ITA Regional Awards. A total of seven of the possible 12 awards in the East Region were captured by the Concordia tennis teams and the Clippers were the only team from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) to earn recognition.
For the men’s team, who are the 10th-ranked team in DII, head coach Neil Tarangioli was named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career who has currently guided the Clippers to a 20-2 record. Assistant coach Daniel Rockhill was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career for his supporting role this season.
Senior Andrey Boldarev captured the ITA Senior Player of the Year as he is currently 14-3 in singles play and 18-3 in doubles. Boldarev was named to the All-CACC Tournament Team, All-CACC First Team, and was a two-time CACC Player of the Week Selection in 2013.
Sophomore Benas Majauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) took home the ITA Player to Watch after posting a 17-2 singles record and a 16-4 doubles record. Majauskas was an All-CACC Tournament Team and an All-CACC First Team selection this season.
On the women’s side both Tarangioli and Rockhill took their respective coaches awards for the first time with the women’s teams after guiding Concordia, who is currently ranked No. 35 in the nation, to a 15-7 overall record and the team’s fourth straight CACC title. The Clippers also qualified for the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by then No. 36th-ranked Queens (N.Y.), 5-2. Concordia also increased their regional ranking to No. 2 in the East Region after their victory over the Knights in the regular season.
Freshman Luisa Candido (Boca Raton, Fla.) finished the year with a 13-5 singles record and a 14-6 doubles record to earn the ITA Rookie of the Year award in the East Region. Candido was named the CACC Rookie of the Year and was an All-CACC First Team and All-CACC Tournament Team selection during the fall. Luisa was a four-time CACC Rookie of the Week selection in the fall.