Trinity Men's Tennis Receives ITA Team Sportsmanship Award

San Antonio – Trinity University Tigers men’s tennis has received the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Team Sportsmanship Award for the month of May.

The ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award is a monthly award that goes to one men's and one women's team that has exemplified outstanding sportsmanship, character and ethical conduct in the true spirit of competition and collegiate tennis, according to the ITA news release.

Trinity is an NCAA Division III school, and the women’s team recipient, Vanderbilt, is a member of Division I.

“Our philosophies have always been about personal growth and development as a priority over on-court success," said Trinity’s first-year head coach Russell McMindes, a former Tiger standout.  "I believed in that, and made it my goal to carry that philosophy forward during my tenure as head coach.  We don't do it to win awards, we do it to hopefully impact our players in a positive way and prepare them for the journey of life."  

The Tigers, 18-10 in dual matches, won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, the NCAA West regional, and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps eliminated the Tigers 5-2 in the team tournament at Oberlin, Ohio.

Trinity juniors Bobby Cocanougher from Southlake, Texas (Carroll); and Cory Kowal from Austin, Texas (Anderson); advanced to the NCAA Doubles Championship match. The Tiger duo became the first Trinity players to reach an NCAA championship match since 2001.

The Tigers made their 13th appearance in the NCAA team quarterfinals since 1993, with their previous trip in 2007.  Former coach Butch Newman, now Trinity’s Director of Tennis, led the Tigers to 16 straight NCAA berths. He also guided the Tiger men and women to the 2000 NCAA Team Championships. Coach McMindes was a key member of the national championship men’s team.

The ITA, headquartered in Skillman, N.J., is comprised of nearly 1,700 men’s and women’s varsity tennis coaches, representing over 1,200 institutions.