TEMPE, Ariz. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its 2022 Division I Mountain Regional winners Monday, with Utah earning two individual awards. Roeland Brateanu was named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, and Sten van Beurden was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Brateanu was named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. The last time Brateanu won this award was following the 2019 season. For the first time in his career, van Beurden was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. The last time the Utes claimed this award was following the 2018 season.
Utah finished the season with 21 victories, which was only the second time in program history to win 20 or more matches. The Utes were undefeated in region play and were ranked as high as 22 in the ITA Team rankings. They earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament during the 2022 season, which was the third time in the last four years. The Utes opened the season, winning 16-straight matches, the best start in program history. The Utes finished fourth in the Pac-12, the highest finish in the conference since they joined the league.
After qualifying for the NCAA appearance, the Utes came away with a 4-2 first round victory over Ole Miss. This was just the second victory in the NCAA Tournament for the Utes.
Utah’s Franco Capalbo, Francisco Bastias, and Geronimo Espin Busleiman, earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors. This was the first time since the Utes’ joined the Pac-12 that they had three players honored in the same season.
Utah’s doubles team of Capalbo and Espin Busleiman earned a trip to the NCAA Doubles Championship and were the first Utah duo since Nick Coutts and Zach Ganger to earn a berth. Capalbo and Espin Busleiman finished the season ranked No. 22 in the ITA doubles rankings.
The Utes finished ranked No. 32 in the ITA Team rankings, and Espin Busleiman earned an ITA singles ranking of 109 to finish the season.
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