Cavaliers Earn Three ITA All-Region Honors
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May 9, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Two Virginia men’s tennis players received ITA Atlantic Region awards, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Monday (May 9).
Senior Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) was named the ITA Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year as well as the Atlantic Region Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership. Sophomore Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) was named the Atlantic Region Player to Watch.
Shane is the seventh Cavalier to be named the top senior player in the region, joining Brian Vahaly (2001), Somdev Devvarman (2008), Michael Shabaz (2011), Jarmere Jenkins (2013), Alex Domijan (2014) and Mitchell Frank (2015). Shane is also the fifth Cavalier to become the region’s honoree for the Arthur Ashe award, joining Devvarman (2007), Sanam Singh (2011), Domijan (2013) and Frank (2015).
Shane, the defending NCAA singles champion, is the No. 8 seed in the upcoming NCAA Singles Championship as well as earning the No. 4 seed in the doubles tournament. Shane logged the 100th singles victory of his Virginia career in the final weekend of the regular-season and has 14 victories at No. 1 singles this season for the Cavaliers.
Altamirano, who earned the ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year honor last season, is the seventh Cavalier to be named the Region Player to watch, joining Doug Stewart (2005), Devvarman (2006), Treat Huey (2007), Michael Shabaz (2010), Justin Shane (2012) and Ryan Shane (2014).
Altamirano will also be competing in the NCAA Singles Championship beginning May 25 at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Altamirano compiled a 23-4 record in singles this spring, including going 13-2 at No. 2 singles.
Select coaches in each region comprised the awards committee. National award winners for Division I will be announced on Tuesday, May 24.
The Cavaliers will be back in action this weekend, hosting NCAA Regional first and second round matches at the Snyder Tennis Center. Virginia will host Monmouth (11-9) in the first round on Saturday May 14 at 12 p.m. after Columbia (17-5) plays Penn State (21-8) at 9 a.m. The winners will play on Sunday, May 15 at 1 p.m. for a trip to the NCAA Round of 16 being held May 20-24 in Tulsa, Okla.