Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Team Regionally Honored
May 10, 2005 | Cowboy Tennis
Head Coach James Wadley was named the Wilson ITA Coach of the Year for the third time in the last five years. The only other coach in the country to accomplish that feat is Baylor's Matt Knoll, who won the national championship last season. Wadley's Cowboys are currently 21-6, and getting set to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Wadley has compile a career record of 576-263 at OSU.
Kuharic, a native of Croatia, won the Ted Farnsworth Senior Player of the Year in the region. Kuharic has played the No. 3 position for most of the year, but bumped to No. 2 late in the season to help balance out the lineup. Kuharic has posted a 19-3 record this season. He has posted a 49-17 career record in his three years at OSU.
Van Elden, an Australian native, was nominated by the regional coaches for the John Van Nostrand Memorial Award. Each region nominated one player, and a national award winner will be selected later on. Van Elden has been the top singles player for the Pokes each of the last three years. Van Elden has compiled an 18-7 record on the season and is currently the 28th ranked player in the country. Van Elden is 51-16 in his career at OSU.
Also being honored for Oklahoma State's women's team is freshman Iryna Tkachenko. Tkachenko, a native of Ukraine, was honored as the top rookie in the central region. Tkachenko went 17-6 as the Cowgirls' top singles player, and boasted wins over several nationally ranked players.
The Cowboy tennis team can be seen in action in the first round of the NCAA tennis tournament at the DeBois Tennis Center in Stillwater on Saturday following the Oklahoma and South Carolina match, which is slated to begin at 10 a.m.
