University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Receive ITA Central Region Awards
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Full List of ITA Award Recipients
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Minnesota men's tennis head coach Geoff Young, associate head coach Urban Ljubic, senior Leandro Toledo and freshman Matic Spec each earned 2015 ITA Division I Central Region awards, the organization announced Tuesday morning.
Young was named the Central Region Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, while Ljubic earned the regional's ITA Assistant Coach of the Year honor. Toledo won the regional Most Improved Player (Senior) of the Year award, while Spec was named the Rookie of the Year.
All 12 regional winners for each award will remain eligible to receive an ITA Division I National Award. The national award winners will be announced next Tuesday.
Young and Ljubic helped lead the Gophers to their first Big Ten title since 1995 with a 10-1 record in league competition. Under their watch, the Gophers matched their highest win total since 2000 and went undefeated at home, going 12-0 at the Baseline Tennis Center. The team also reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last seven years.
Both Young and Ljubic are second-time recipients of the respective awards. Young was the ITA Regional Coach of the Year in 2011, while Ljubic was the ITA Regional Coach of the Year in 2013.
Toledo, who will serve as the Big Ten's automatic qualifier in the upcoming NCAA Singles Tournament, has a 26-12 singles record in his senior season with nine wins against ranked foes. The 2014 All-American and 2015 Big Ten Athlete of the Year had 19 victories at the No. 1 position in the spring, the most for a Gopher since 1994. In addition to being ranked 22nd in singles, the Hamburg, Germany native finished 23-4 in doubles. He is a four-time All-Big Ten honoree.
Ranked 60th in singles, Spec is an alternate for the NCAA Singles Tournament after a First Team All-Big Ten campaign. He currently owns a 14-match singles win streak that has pushed his record to 31-5 on the season, making him the school's first 30-match winner since 2003.
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Players Mentioned
