Skillman, N.J.----Wingate University assistant tennis coach Drew Owen has been named the Southeast Region women's tennis Assistant Coach of the Year by the ITA, officials announced Thursday afternoon. Owen helped guide the Bulldogs to their fourth consecutive regular season SAC title in the 2013-14 season.

"I am proud of Drew for everything he has accomplished while being a part of this Wingate Tennis program as a player and now a coach," head coach Michael Cabana says. "He has been instrumental in our success and has been a great asset to this program and myself. It is an honor for him to win this award and be recognized and I am proud to have had the opportunity to work side by side Drew for these past couple of years."

Owen is the assistant coach for the Wingate men's and women's teams. Both teams went undefeated in SAC play in 2014, combining to go 22-0 in the conference. The Wingate women went undefeated in league play for the third time in four years. The Bulldogs have won 25 consecutive regular season SAC matches and 37 of their last 38 league contests.

The Wingate women earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 2014. The Bulldogs have earned an NCAA tournament bid each of the last four years. Wingate won three consecutive SAC tournament titles from 2011-13. The Bulldogs finished the season at 19-6 overall.

Owen was a two-time All-SAC selection as a player at Wingate University (2008-12). He earned first team All-SAC accolades in each of his final two years. Owen was the 2012 SAC tournament MVP. He went 2-0 in singles and doubles play in the SAC tournament, helping the Bulldogs win their first-ever SAC tournament title. Owen also won the clinching match in Wingate's 5-3 victory over Mount Olive in the NCAA tournament, the first-ever NCAA post-season win in Wingate men's tennis history.

ABOUT THE ITA

The ITA is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing men's and women's varsity tennis at all levels - NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College - and over the past three decades has worked hard to achieve its charter goals: 

To foster and encourage the playing of intercollegiate tennis in accordance with the highest tradition of sportsmanship and consistent with the general objectives of higher education.

To develop among the intercollegiate coaches a deeper sense of responsibility in teaching, promoting, maintaining and conducting the game of tennis.

To educate and serve those individuals and groups who are involved in collegiate tennis: junior and college players, their coaches and parents, and the at-large tennis public.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past eight years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000's with 59 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 59 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 68 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.