Trio Honored by ITA
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 6 TCU men's tennis team was honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday with head coach David Roditi, along with freshmen Cameron Norrie and Guillermo Nuñez garnered Texas Regional awards.
Roditi earned his second coach of the year honor by being named Wilson/ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year, while Norrie was named ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year and Nuñez garnered ITA Texas Region Player to Watch.
In his five years at the helm of the TCU men's tennis program, Roditi has returned the Horned Frogs to the top of the tennis world. A top 50 program when he was hired in September 2010, Roditi has led the team back to the top-10 as they currently sit at No. 6. AThis season alone, Roditi has led TCU to 23 wins for the first time since 2001 with 16 of the victories coming over ranked foes. For the first time under Roditi's direction, the Frogs defeated not only one, but four top-10 ranked opponents during the 2015 season. Roditi also led the team to the 2015 ITA National Indoor Team Championships for the first time since 2001, while also leading TCU to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Championship.
The 2015 season was also filled with tons of first victories against regional foes for the first time in a long time. TCU struck down Texas A&M twice for the first time since 2006 and a 4-1 win over Texas on senior day was the first victory over the Longhorns since 1996 when Roditi was a senior on the squad. Off the court, Roditi has been a pioneer in trying to revolutionize the atmosphere and attendance at tennis matches and was honored as the 2014 USTA/ITA National Campus & Community Outreach Award recipient, one of college tennis' most esteemed awards.
Norrie joined the TCU tennis program as a late signee and has raised the bar in our competition level. During the fall season and in his first competition for TCU at the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships, Norrie became the third freshman in 2014 to nab the singles crown at the his respective regional championships and he and Trevor Johnson became only the second all-freshmen doubles tandem in the history of the regionals to snag the doubles title as well.
Norrie climbed to a career-high singles ranked of No. 18, while he and Johnson were ranked as high as No. 15 this season. Currently ranked No. 39 in singles, Norrie has 24 wins in his debut season and eight victories over ranked opponents. Norrie became the ninth freshman in TCU history to qualify for the NCAA singles championship, while he and Johnson are the second alternates for the doubles bracket.
Nuñez is wrapping up his first season and has helped lead the team to new heights in his first season as a Frog. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Nuñez leads the team with a 26-5 record in singles, while also picking up 27 wins in doubles action for an overall debut campaign record of 53-16.
Nuñez put together 19 straight victories in his first season as a Frog and has brought down five ranked opponents. The No. 1 freshman in the Texas region, Nuñez is nearly perfect in dual matches with a 19-1 record and has been ranked every week this season and currently sits at No. 59 in the country. Nuñez is the first alternate for the NCAA singles championship.
TCU advanced to the NCAA Team Finals that will take place at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas on May 14-25. The Frogs will face No. 12 Wake Forest in the round of 16 on Thursday at Noon.
