The BYU–Hawaii Seasiders Women’s Tennis team received national recognition, success, and honors within the last month. The No. 3 Women’s Tennis team made it through to the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championships, Marietta Tuionetoa was named the 2015 Women's Senior Player of the Year, and BYU–Hawaii Head Coach Dave Porter was named the Wilson/ITA Women's Coach of the Year, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday, May 12.
“It was an honor to represent BYU-Hawaii at the NCAA championships this year,” says Porter. “We had a wonderful year going 32-2 on the season. I am grateful for an outstanding group of young ladies.”
After capturing the PacWest Championship for the ninth-consecutive year, BYU–Hawaii women's tennis team was selected to play in the NCAA Division II Championship. As the No. 1 seed in the West Region, the Seasiders (30-1) automatically bypassed the regional tournament and headed straight to nationals.
Following the Seasiders’ victories against Pennsylvania University (PA) with a 5-0 win, Saint Mary’s (TX) with a 5-1 win, the Seasiders fell to No. 2 Barry University (FL).
BYU–Hawaii has gone to all 16 national tournaments since joining the NCAA Division II in 1999. Head coach David Porter has led his team to seven national championships and five second-place finishes in those appearances.
Marietta Tuionetoa, a senior player from California majoring in political science, expressed her “total surprise” at receiving the award of Senior Player of the Year. Porter describer her as one of the best, if not the best, doubles player he has coached at BYU–Hawaii. “She is a quiet leader who was an absolute joy to coach for four years.”
Tuionetoa has been named an ITA All-American in doubles in each of the past three seasons. She was also the regional winner of the Arthur Ashe award. Tuionetoa finished the regular season as the No. 7 singles player and No. 22 doubles player in the nation. She was undefeated in singles against Division II opponents, and lost only one doubles match. Over the past four years, she has compiled a record of 83-8 in singles and 109-7 in doubles.
“In the final rankings,” said Porter, “Marietta was ranked among the top 10 singles players from over 500 different NCAA Division II schools.”
“I'm so honored to have made an impression and to have been able to represent the school, especially with it being my last year…[the award] was just such a great reminder of how blessed and how thankful I am to have ended up at BYU-Hawaii. The school, the tennis program, coach, and all the people that I have come across while I've been here have changed my life for the better. I wouldn't trade my experiences here for the world. So this award has truly been a culmination of all of those years of support, which have helped me both on and off the court. A team effort all along. I couldn't have done it without my teammates, coach, my family and ultimately my Heavenly Father.”
With the recent and continued successes of the team, Porter is aptly recognized for his achievements, once again. Porter has consistently been at the top of collegiate tennis as the winningest active coach. He has amassed the second-best combined record of any NCAA tennis coach at 1,320-172, including a 673-22 women's record.
Porter trails former University of Hawaii head coach, Jim Schwitters, by seven victories for the most ever as a collegiate tennis coach. Porter has led the Seasiders to 11 National Championships, nine on the women's side alone, and has competed for 14 national championship titles in 16 seasons at the Division II level.
Having been named the Wilson/ITA Women's Coach of the Year, Porter is quick to direct the accomplishment toward the women’s team, who “bought in to [his] philosophy of play and practice work ethic.”
About the ITA Awards program:
For more information on the ITA Awards program, visit http://www.itatennis.com/AboutITA/AbouttheITA.htm.