HONOLULU, HI (May 13, 2014) – On the eve of the tennis national championships, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its national award winners. The Sea Warriors won four awards in addition to Celina Goetti winning the NCAA's Elite 89 Award.
 
Last week the ITA revealed the regional award winners in six categories across all eight regions. Today, national winners were determined from the eight finalists.

On the men's side, Joan Costa was named the National Assistant Coach of Year. The Spanish national is in his second season at HPU, since his arrival the Sea Warriors are an outstanding 39-4. "Joan has been a tremendous help to our program over the past two years. He's had an extremely positive influence on our players not only on the court, but also off the court. We're very fortunate to have him with our program," said Head Coach Hendrik Bode. 

Thibaud Berland was selected as the National Rookie Player of the Year. Berland recently entered the singles rankings at #35 with his 13-4 record. In doubles, he is ranked #1 with Petr Michnev.

Jaume Martinez-Vich, now 15-3 in singles, was awarded National Player to Watch, he is currently ranked #15 in the nation in singles. Martinez-Vich, along with partner Mattis Wetzel, are 20-0 in doubles and also ranked at #15.

The women's tennis team also received some hardware.

Pierre Tafelski matched Costa as the National Assistant Coach of Year. The women's tennis team is 39-9 since the Frenchman joined the program two years ago. "Pierre is so deserving of this award. His knowledge of the game and dedication to the team has helped with results tremendously. We are lucky to have him as an assistant coach," said Head Coach Lauren Conching.

Goetti won the Elite 89, thanks to her 3.96 GPA. She is HPU's Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a 2013 Capital One Academic All-American.

The award, founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.

Both tennis teams will play in the Round of 16 at the NCAA National Tournament on May 14th.