Florida Earns Multiple ITA Honors
Thursday, May 14, 2015 | Women's Tennis
SKILLMAN, N.J. – Freshman Brooke Austin, sophomore Kourtney Keegan, freshman Josie Kuhlman and head coach Roland Thornqvist received various regional honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) coaches, as announced by the ITA Tuesday.
Thornqvist in his 14th season at the helm was named the 2015 Wilson/ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the third time in his career (2010, '12, '15). Thornqvist has guided the Florida Gators to 14 consecutive NCAA appearances, including three titles (2003, '11, '12) and 10 SEC Regular Season Championships, most recently the 2015 title.
Austin adds 2015 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year to a long list of accolades in her first season with the Florida Gators. Earlier this season, the Indianapolis, Ind., native was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. She is the second Florida rookie to be named Player of the Year and the first-ever Gator to receive both honors in the same season. Austin is just the second freshman in league history to garner the SEC Player of the Year title, joining Gator Great Lauren Embree. She leads the Gators with 18 dual singles wins and 15 dual doubles victories with Keegan.
Last season's ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year, Keegan has been awarded the 2015 ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding individuals in all divisions at the regional and national level and is given to players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Keegan is an active member of Florida's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The Second Team All-SEC selection was also honored with this year's Evelyn Puckett Most Improved Award, as voted upon by the Florida coaches. Keegan recently recorded her 50th career overall singles win.
Ponte Vedra, Fla., native Kuhlman, a First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman selection, was named the Southeast Region recipient of the 2015 ITA Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship, which goes to a Division I women's player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. Kuhlman currently leads the Gators with 32 overall singles wins and is the only UF player to win all four of her combined singles and doubles matches in the Gators' First and Second Round matches of this year's NCAA Championship. A vocal leader on the court, Kuhlman also earned the team's Rheau Stakeley Sportsmanship Award at this year's banquet.
The No. 5 Florida Gators (5) continue their postseason run in the NCAA Round of 16 in Waco, Texas, on Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. when they take on No. 12 Oklahoma State (12).
Gator Coaches Honored as Wilson/ITA National/Region Coach of the Year:
Andy Brandi (1989, '96)
Roland Thornqvist (2010-Southeast, 2011, 2012-Southeast, 2015-Southeast)
Gators Honored as the ITA National/Region Rookie of the Year:
Brooke Austin (2015, Southeast)
Dawn Buth (1995)
Amanda Basica (1997)
Halle Cioffi (1988)
Julia Cohen (2008, South)
Lindsey Dawaf (2001, South)
Lauren Embree (2010)
Olivia Janowicz (2011, South)
Lisa Raymond (1992)
Zerene Reyes (2002, South)
Shaun Stafford (1987)
Gators Honored with the ITA National/Region Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship:
Josie Kuhlman (2015, Southeast)
Joanna Mather (2011, Southeast)
Stephanie Nickitas (1998)
Gators Honored with the National/Region ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award:
Kourtney Keegan (2015, Southeast)
Joanna Mather (2012, Southeast)
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