Hansen's UCSC (21-5) squad beat defending champ Emory (Ga.) 5-1 in today's NCAA Division III men's final in St. Louis. The title is UCSC's sixth under Hansen and second in three years. In February the Banana Slugs also captured the ITA Division III National Team Indoor title.

 

Rankin and Washington & Lee (Va.) (25-1) beat Amherst (Mass.) 5-2 in today's women's final in Fredericksburg, Va.. The title is Washington & Lee's first in its fourth final appearance since 2003. Emory, which fell to the University of the South (Tenn.) in a regional final, had captured the last four women's championships.

 

Also receiving national awards tonight at the respective banquets will be (men's winner listed first):

ITA National Senior Player of the Year - Matt Seeberger, UC-Santa Cruz and Liz Bondi, DePauw (Ind.)

ITA National Rookie of the Year - John Watts, Washington Univ. (Mo.) (men) and Siobhan Finnicane, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.)

ITA National Player to Watch - Charlie Cutler, Washington Univ. (Mo.) (men) and Cary Gibson, Williams (Mass.)

ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship - Thomas Dohlman, MIT and Laura Stein of Amherst (Mass.)

As the governing body of collegiate tennis the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit presented by the USTA, and the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings for Men's and Women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.