HOUSTON Rice head coach Ron Smarr was named the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Associaion on Wednesday night, while Shaheen Ladhani received national assistant coach of the year kudos and senior William Barker was honored with the ITA/Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award.
Smarr, Ladhani and Barker helped Rice to 17-0 start and program-best number-five ITA ranking earlier this season. Earlier this month Rice won its first conference title in 32 years, as Smarr was selected as the WAC coach of the year for the second consecutive year. Last Saturday Rice made its first ever Sweet 16 appearance and ended the season with a 24-4 record.
Smarr is in his seventh season at Rice, with a 127-66 mark, and 34th year overall. Ladhani is in his eighth season as a coach with the Owls after competing for the Blue and Gray for two seasons and receiving his Rice degree in 1997.
Barker, ranked 44th, upset Oregon's Sven Swinnen on Wednseday to advance to the second round of the NCAA championships in Tulsa, Okla. He and twin brother Richard Barker are number one in the latest ITA doubles rankings and are the top seed at the NCAA championships.