TEMPE, Ariz. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its 2022 Division I Mountain Regional winners Monday, with Utah earning two individual awards. Ric Mortera was named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, and Blair Shankle was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
This is the first time in program history that Utah has earned the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year and the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year regional honors. The honors go to a coach/assistant coach who has exhibited outstanding leadership that contributes to on and off-court team performance.
The Utes finished the 15-11 on the season. Utah opened the season with a 9-0 mark, the best start in program history. Utah earned three ranked wins this season, including the 13th straight victory over BYU, who was ranked No. 54.
Utah earned a 4-2 victory over then-No. 21 Southern California. The win was the first-ever victory over Southern California in program history. In the match against the Trojans, Linda Huang defeated Eryn Cayetano, who was ranked fifth in the ITA singles rankings. This was the third highest-ranked singles win in program history for the Utes.
At the Pac-12 Tournament, the Utes defeated No. 48 Arizona, 4-1, in the first-round matchup. This was the first win in the Pac-12 Championship since 2017. Following the Pac-12 Tournament, the conference announced that Utah’s duo of Anastasia Goncharova and Linda Huang earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors.
In the last ITA player rankings, Huang closed out the season ranked 105th in singles. This was the first time since 2015 that a Ute finished the season ranked. As a team, the Utes finished ranked 49th.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UteWomensTennis | Instagram: @UtahWomensTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwomenstennis).
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Utah Athletics…