Intercollegiate Tennis Association

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The Intercollegiate Tennis Association is an organization of 1,500 coaches and 15,000 collegiate tennis players, encompassing more than 1,000 college tennis programs. Included in the membership are women’s and men’s head and assistant coaches at the NCAA Divisions I, II, III, and NAIA and Junior/Community College schools.[1]

The first meeting of the National Collegiate Tennis Coaches Association was called in June 1956, at the NCAA Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. That original group, consisting of fewer than 20 coaches of men’s NCAA Division I schools, grew into today’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The ITA, which was known as the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association from 1958 until July 1992, received major sponsorship funding from a variety of corporations, including: Rolex Watch, U.S.A., Volvo Corporation of America, DuPont, Wilson Sporting Goods, Reebok, Fila, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Omni Hotels.

Most of the ITA’s current activities, from the sponsorship of eight national championships, the sanctioning of over 150 collegiate tournaments for teams, singles, and doubles, and the awarding of a range of honors for coaches and players, began at the end of the 1970s.

The ITA Office is located in Skillman, New Jersey. In 2000, the ITA moved its headquarters to the greater Princeton area, after 16 years at the Lenz Tennis Center on the Princeton University campus.

Awards

Various regional awards are presented by ITA in recognition of outstanding performances in men and women college tennis each year.

The awards include:

  • ITA/Campbell National Player of the Year Awards
  • Arthur Ashe/ITA Collegiate Awards for Leadership and Sportsmanship
  • ITA Senior Player of the Year Awards
  • Ted Farnsworth/ITA Men's Division I Player of the Year Awards
  • ITA Rookie Player of the Year Awards
  • ITA Player to Watch Awards
  • ITA Scholar Athlete All-American Awards
  • ITA All-America Team Awards (performance)
  • ITA All-Academic Team Awards (team GPA award)
  • Cissie Leary/ITA Award for Sportsmanship (women Div. I)
  • Rafael Osuna/ITA Award for Sportsmanship (men Div. I)
  • John Van Nostrand/ITA Award (men Div. I)
  • ITA National Doubles Team of the Year
  • ITA Collegiate All-Star Team (composed of top players from all divisions)
  • USTA Collegiate Summer Team (traveling team)
  • Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year Awards
  • ITA Assistant Coach of the Year Awards
  • ITA Achievement Award (awarded to varsity collegiate tennis alumni)[2]

Hall of Fame

The ITA Men's Hall of Fame is located at the University of Georgia’s Henry Field Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and the ITA Women's Hall of Fame is located at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame was created to "celebrate the milestones in women's collegiate tennis, from the early struggles for recognition to the achievement of full-fledged intercollegiate competition."

References

  1. ↑ "About the ITA". Itatennis.com. January 21, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010. 
  2. ↑ "ITA Award Winners". Itatennis.com. August 24, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010. 

External links

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