Texas Tech University Athletics
Siegel Named Regional Coach of the Year
May 14, 2008 | Men's Tennis
May 14, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its regional winners today for the 2008 Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year. Texas Tech men's tennis' head coach Tim Siegel garnered his second career Regional Coach of the Year honor, with the first coming in 2005, representing the South Central division.
He is one of eight coaches to receive the regional honor and will advance as a finalist for the national award, which will be announced by the ITA on May 20, 2008.
Siegel's tenure with the men's tennis program began in 1993, where he has compiled a record of 214-172. His 200th career-win at Tech came earlier this season as the Red Raiders put away a 5-2 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock. Since taking over the men's team, Siegel has attained high levels of success on the national level. Now seven of the past 14 seasons the men's team has reached the NCAA Tournament and has been included among the top 30-ranked teams in the nation, as well as having singles and doubles players ranked in the top 100. He has also coached four singles players to the NCAA Singles Championships, and two doubles duos to the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Siegel was also voted the 2008 Big 12 Coach of the Year by his peers at the end of April. This is the second time in his career in which he has received the conference and ITA Coach of the Year award in the same season. Tech ended its 2008 regular season campaign with a 20-6 duals record, 4-2 in the Big 12 and tied for second with Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders are currently ranked No. 17 nationally after returning from participating in the 2008 NCAA Championships. In Ann Arbor, Mich., the team advanced to the second round of the championships after defeating No. 51 Harvard, 4-2. Unfortunately, Tech fell short of making the Sweet 16 suffering a 4-2 loss the next day against host No. 16 Michigan indoors at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Two-thousand five was a milestone year for Siegel as he led his No. 15-ranked Red Raiders to a Sweet-16 berth and was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and Co-Region Coach of the Year by his peers. The team returned to the NCAA Tournament last season after missing out in 2006, advancing to the second round after defeating Virginia Commonwealth, 4-1.
The team narrowly missed its first ever regular season conference title as they headed into the last week of Big 12 play tied for first with both Baylor and Texas. The team dropped a 5-2 loss to the Bears in Waco, resulting in a tie with OSU for second place heading to the conference championships. After receiving the fourth seed in the tournament, Tech suffered a devastating 4-3 loss to host Texas A&M, falling just short of the 20th win needed to secure a spot at hosting a 2008 NCAA Regional. Siegel has sparked Texas Tech to its first winning record in conference play since 2005, and has raised the team's overall winning percentage from .583 a year ago to .792 in 2008.
Siegel has done an outstanding job recruiting top student-athletes, locally, nationally, and internationally. He continues to provide the team with leadership and experience needed to be successful on and off the court, as the Tech men's team has led the conference for two straight years with five Academic All-Big 12 honorees each year. His team has also maintained a 3.0 GPA or higher since the fall of 1999, with a total of 21 players over the past 16 years named to the all-conference academic team. His team was also recently named as Texas Tech's Academic Team of the Year for maintaining a combined team GPA of 3.5.
"Tim Siegel is one of the top coaches in the Big 12, period," commented Senior Associate Athletic Director Steve Downing. "What he has accomplished within the conference is a testament to him as a coach because the Big 12 is a really strong conference, especially in men's tennis. When I think of him as a coach I would compare him to any coach in any sport in the league because I think highly of his methods and strategy. I've watched him practice and teach his team, and I know the commitment is there for both the sport and for academics. This is a well deserved honor for Tim."
