SUWANEE, Ga. -- The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announce the 2024 ITA Division III Men's and Women's Regional Award recipients last week and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) racked up six major awards. Full ITA Men's Release | Full ITA Women's Release
Trinity University assistant coach Wilson Hamilton was named the ITA West Regional Men's Assistant Coach of the Year, Colorado College's Andrew Kaelin secured ITA Most Improved Player of the Year and Trinity's Connor Whittington earned ITA Player to Watch. On the women's side, Trinity head coach Drew Cohn and assistant coach Annie Wise were selected as the ITA Wilson West Regional Women's Coach and ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, while Trinity's Ellie Hughes won ITA Most Improved Player award.
Every year the ITA recognizes coaches and players for their excellence on the court and in their communities throughout the season.
The Division III Playing Awards include: Wilson ITA Coach of the Year, ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA Most Improved Senior, ITA Senior Player of the Year, ITA Player to Watch, and ITA Community Service Award.
The national award winners were announced on Tuesday, May 21st. Men's National Winners – Women's National Winners
Hamilton is the latest in a line of several Trinity men's tennis assistants to earn the ITA regional honor, including current Head Coach Russell McMindes. He has led the Tigers to back-to-back SCAC Championships in his two seasons on the coaching staff, as well as helping the team to two NCAA Playoff appearances. As a player, Hamilton secured 120 dual-match victories (50 of those in singles alone) and was chosen to the All-SCAC teams five times in his career.
Kaelin posted a 14-9 overall singles record during the '23-24 campaign. He played all 18 of his dual matches at the No. 1 position and produced an impressive 11-7 record, including a 3-1 mark against SCAC opponents. The Mercer Island, Wash., product was a first-team all-SCAC selection and a second-team pick in doubles with junior Aiden Little. Kaelin, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the 'A' bracket at the ITA West Region Tournament last fall, was also named to the CSC Academic All-District team.
Whittington went 9-6 at No. 2 singles this season for the Tigers, earning First Team All-SCAC honors as a singles player this year and All-SCAC Tournament honors in singles each of the past two seasons. He helped the team earn an overall record of 16-9 this season.
Cohn is nearing the end of his fourth season with the Tigers and he has now won the West Region Coach of the Year award for two consecutive years. He is also a two-time ITA Regional Coach of the Year (at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges). Coach Cohn has led Trinity to three straight SCAC Championships and three straight appearances in the NCAA Playoffs. This spring, he led Trinity to its first NCAA Playoff win since the 2015-16 season.
Wise is in her third year as a Tiger coach, having also graduated from Trinity as a student-athlete on both the women's tennis and women's basketball teams. She has helped the Tigers win the SCAC Championship and advance to the NCAA Playoffs in each of her three seasons with the team, which finished the year with a 16-5 record in 2024.
Hughes played line two singles most of the season for Trinity, picking up seven victories on that line. She was also a standout doubles performer this year, tying for the team lead with 14 doubles wins – most of which came at line three. She partnered with first-year Rosabella Andrade for a 14-5 overall record at doubles this spring. For her efforts, Hughes was named to the All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team in singles this season. She has also been chosen for the SCAC All-Tournament Team in doubles each of the past three years – including this year's selection with Andrade.
