May 20, 2001

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the national award winners for women's tennis on Sunday during the NCAA Division I Championships at the Lincoln Tennis Center with Duke's Ansley Cargill selected ITA National Rookie of the Year.

Duke's Cargill is ITA Rookie of the Year after a season that saw her win the second leg of the ITA Grand Slam at the Riviera Women's All-American Championships, and reach the final of the third leg of the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. She is currently ranked No. 2 in the national singles rankings and was ranked No. 1 during a stretch earlier this season. She will enter this week's NCAA singles tournament with a 42-3 record. She was named ITA National Player of the Month twice this season in October and March. Cargill marks the third Duke player to win the National honor as Vanessa Webb and Karin Miller were honored in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Other winners include were--

Mike and Sonia Hahn-Patrick, who are husband and wife, and six other national award winners were announced on Sunday: Notre Dame's Michelle Dasso was ITA National Senior Player of the Year, Duke's Ansley Cargill was ITA National Rookie of the Year, Old Dominion's Nataly Cahana was ITA National Player to Watch, BYU's Jodi Richardson was the ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award winner, and Georgia's Debbie Beck and Washington's Jill Hultquist were co-winners for ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year.

The Patricks, Wilson/ITA National Coaches of the Year, have led Tennessee to the most successful season in school history. Ranked No. 17 in the preseason WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the Lady Vols have climbed to as high as No. 2 in the national rankings this season and reached the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Last month they were named SEC Coaches of the Year. They are in their fourth year as co-head coaches and this is the first time the ITA has honored more than one coach in the same year since the award's inception in 1984.

Notre Dame's Dasso, currently No. 3 in the WingspanBank.com national singles rankings, opened the season by reaching the final at the opening leg of the ITA Grand Slam, the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championships and also reached the singles semifinals of the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, the third leg of the ITA Grand Slam (in singles and doubles). She's a three-time ITA All-American and will leave Notre Dame as the school's career leader in singles (136) and doubles (107) wins.

Old Dominion freshman Cahana is the ITA Player to Watch, which goes to a highly-ranked non-senior player who has had an outstanding season, but not yet won an ITA Grand Slam event in singles. Cahana reached at least the quarterfinals at all three legs of the opening legs of the ITA Grand Slam this season. She turned in a 46-3 record while leading Old Dominion to its first Colonial Athletic Association title and was named CAA Player of the Year.

Georgia's Beck and Washington's Hultquist share ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Beck has been instrumental in Georgia's success for the past seven years, helping it to the NCAA title last season. Georgia is currently ranked fourth in the country and is playing in today's semifinals. Hultquist, in her fourth year with the Huskies, played a major role in Washington reaching the NCAA quarterfinals and climbing to No. 14 in the latest national rankings. With head coach Patty McCain in Seattle expecting her first child, Hultquist took over coaching duties for a NCAA third round upset win over Tennessee on Thursday.

BYU's Richardson is the ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award winner. This award is presented to an individual who displays inspiring commitment and dedication to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. Richardson is currently No. 44 in the national singles rankings and helped BYU to the Mountain West Conference title this season while being named MWC Player of the Year.

The ITA names the TENNIS Magazine National Player of the Year, ITA National Doubles Team of the Year and TENNIS Magazine Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship next month.