VIEIRA AND GIBSON GRAB ACCOLADES

ELKINS, WV- Freshman Leonardo Vieira and assistant coach Tim Gibson were honored by the ITA as Rookie of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2011-2012 season.

Leonardo finishes his Freshman year ranked 5th in the region in singles and 7th in doubles. He finished with a record of 20-10, with some great wins over nationally ranked players along the way. Leo was also named the WVIAC Freshman of the Year as well.

He looks to continue to build upon the success of his rookie campaign in the years to come at Davis and Elkins College. He says, "I will continue to work hard and be very focused on my goals and objectives and will do my best for the TEAM."

Tim Gibson, was named Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2nd time in three years by the ITA. He is a volunteer assistant who has been involved with tennis for a long time here at Davis and Elkins. He was a player in the mid 90's at D&E after switching from baseball to tennis and immediately felt a love for the game. He learned a lot of his tennis from Lee Underwood who taught him the basics of the game. He honed his skills over the years playing Lee's top players at D&E while assisting Coach Underwood as a practice partner/coach. In addition to teaching him how to play, Lee also taught him a lot of fundamentals for coaching which has help the team tremendously. "Having him here to assist me, it is always nice to have an extra set of eyes or someone that might see something differently or communicate an objective differently.", says coach Otis Cutshaw of his assistant.

Tim is also a part of the community development for tennis here in Elkins. He runs the Mountain State Forest Festival Tournament, is a co-founder of the Randolph County Tennis Association, and he also helps with the all the camps and clinics put on by Coach Cutshaw. According to Coach Cutshaw, "He is well over due with the recognition he receives. I am glad he is being recognized now more for what he has contributed to the sport of tennis here."

2012 NCAA Division II MEN'S ITA AWARDS
(click here to see Division II women)

COURTESY ITATENNIS.COM

Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year
Atlantic	Louis Belt, Bluefield State College
Central	Beck Meares, Metro State College
East	Neil Tarangioli, Concordia College
Midwest	Jarrod Smith, Drury University
South	Derrick Racine, University of West Florida
South Central	Craig Ward, Ouachita Baptist University
Southeast	Simon Earnshaw, Armstrong Atlantic State University
West	Hendrik Bode, Hawaii Pacific University

Assistant Coach of the Year
Atlantic	Tim Gibson, Davis & Elkins College
Central	Larry Sundby, Saint Cloud State University
East	Daniel Rockhill, Concordia College
Midwest	Adam Sandusky, Grand Valley State
South	Beth Daub, Saint Leo University
South Central	John Walker, Abilene Christian University
Southeast	Eva Huning, Columbus State University
West	Dillon Porter, Grand Canyon University

Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship
Atlantic	Tyler McCullough, West Liberty University
Central	Andres Hernandez, Colorado Mesa University
East	Alec Spycher, Bentley University
Midwest	Dan Jarboe, Grand Valley State University
South	Luke Bolanos, Palm Beach Atlantic University
South Central	Luke Joyce, Midwestern State University
Southeast	Jerome Leborgne, Georgia College
West	Frederic Schoelzel, Grand Canyon University

Senior Player of the Year
Atlantic	Keith Whittingham, Mercyhurst
Central	Josh Raymond, University of Nebraska at Kearney
East	Attila Toth, Queens College (NY)
Midwest	Uno Lapimaa, Lewis University
South	Christian Hansen, Valdosta State University
South Central	Nick Plum, Abilene Christian University
Southeast	Mikk Irdoja, Armstrong Atlantic State University
West	Peter Kazianschuetz, Grand Canyon University

Player To Watch
Atlantic	Diego Monteiro, Concord University
Central	Rodrigo Almeida, Western New Mexico University
East	David Tisserand, Concordia College
Midwest	Andy Blair, Drury University
South	Bruno Savi, University of West Florida
South Central	Domingos Carissimo, Southwest Baptist University
Southeast	Georgi Rumenov, Armstrong Atlantic State University
West	Petr Michnev, Hawaii Pacific University

Rookie of the Year
Atlantic	Leonardo Veira, Davis & Elkins College
Central	Jordan Lyden, Colorado Mesa University
East	Mark Mozer, Concordia College
Midwest	Laurent Galarneau, Ferris State University
South	Fabian Groetsch, Barry University
South Central	Marko Boaskovic, Ouachita Baptist University
Southeast	Sven Lalic, Armstrong Atlantic State University
West	Yevhen Zakharov, BYU-Hawaii