WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest women¡¦s tennis coach Brian Fleishman has been named the 2002 Wilson/ITA National Coach of theYear, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The ITA honored Fleishman at its annual awards banquet Sunday evening in Stanford, Calif.
Fleishman guided Wake Forest to this year's NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons. The 2002 Demon Deacons tied the school record for wins in a season and finished with a 24-6 record. WFU was a mainstay in the top 10 of the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings this season and reached as high as No. 2 in March. Fleishman also coached junior Bea Bielik to the Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships singles title and to No. 1 national rankings in singles and doubles (with Janet Bergman) this season.
Fleishman, in his fourth season at the helm of the Demon Deacon program, has compiled a 76-23 record (.768) as a head coach, all at WFU. The 2000 ACC Coach of the Year, Fleishman has led the Deacs to four straight NCAA appearances. He has coached seven All-Americas during his tenure at Wake, which included two seasons (1997-98) as an assistant coach. Under Fleishman¡¦s guidance, the Deacons have recorded a 28-4 ACC record the last four seasons and are 9-4 in NCAA Tournament play.
The National Coach of the Year Award is a first for the WFU women¡¦s tennis program. Fleishman becomes the second Deacon coach to earn national recognition in the 2001-02 season, as women¡¦s golf coach Dianne Dailey was named Coach of the Year by the LPGA this past fall.