KUTZTOWN, PA (August 25, 2010) – Kutztown University men’s and women’s tennis coach Suresh Ramamurthi was named the Middle States’ 2010 College Coach of the Year. He was honored at Villanova University’s Pavilion before a Philadelphia Freedoms’ tennis match in July.
Ramamurthi enjoyed a year to remember. He was honored in a ceremony in November for being named the College Coach of the Year by the Eastern Pennsylvania District of the Middle States Section of the United States Tennis Association. Those two honors were perfect bookends a terrific season for the Golden Bear tennis teams.
“This is a nice honor and it’s always special to be recognized by your peers,” Ramamurthi said. “Coaching at Kutztown University has given me this opportunity to take our teams to the national level over the last 11 years. Credit also goes to everyone at Kutztown University that has helped and encouraged the tennis program.”
In addition to winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship, winning the Atlantic Region #2 title and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, Ramamurthi also had several student-athletes earn several individual accolades.
The major individual highlights include on the men’s side, Jonathan Goulet was named the PSAC Athlete of the Year and Cameron O’Donnell was named the PSAC Freshman of the Year. Meanwhile on the women’s side, Rohini Das was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team. In addition, she was named PSAC East Female Athlete of the Year. Ridhima Boorah was named PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
Under Ramamurthi’s guidance, the Golden Bear men have won nine of the last 11 PSAC Championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010). The team appeared in 10 consecutive NCAA East Regional qualifiers, winning five in a row from 2002-06 to advance to the NCAA Championship round of 16. He has coached 45 All-PSAC selections.
The United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization for certifying tennis teaching professionals. Geographically, the organization is made up of seventeen sections across the United States. The Middle States section is comprised of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
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