NORFOLK, Va. – ODU women’s tennis head coachDominic Manilla was named the ITA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, while Associate Head Coach Toni Bickford was named the ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Manilla just completed his seventh year as a head coach at Old Dominion. The Monarchs compiled a 19-5 record, highlighted by a season high ITA national ranking of No. 35 and a 5-2 victory at Virginia. ODU went a perfect 5-0 against C-USA opponents during the season. Old Dominion also performed well against other major regional contenders including a 6-1 victory over William & Mary (No. 46 in ITA rankings), 4-0 victories over VCU and West Virginia, and 7-0 victories over Navy, Richmond and Marshall.
Coach Manilla’s team has also excelled in the classroom with a 3.48 team GPA for the fall 2017 semester and a 3.54 GPA for the spring semester.
Manilla is also very active in the tennis community. He has contributed a great amount of time to share his love of tennis. Outreach efforts include two Special Olympics training events every season for athletes in the Hampton Roads area. The program has grown the past seven years with the last event attracting 40 participants. As an extension to this program, one team member hits with Special Olympics athlete, Jeff Regan, bi-weekly throughout the season. Coach Manilla also teaches 12 hours of private lessons and clinics to young junior tennis players in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and has a strong relationship with junior tennis in the area.
He is the Coaches Chair for Conference USA as well as an ITA Atlantic Regional committee member for the past five seasons.
Bickford, the 2018 tasc Performance ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year, played a major role in the success of the Old Dominion women's tennis program during the 2017-2018 season.
“Her most notable strength is her love for her players and her strong organizational skills,” said Manilla. “Toni also puts great effort in maintaining her high level of play, which enhances individual workouts. This year, Toni made notable efforts to improve even more her technical abilities as a coach. Toni is a weapon for ODU on court and a great motivator for the players. The Old Dominion University women’s tennis program is proud to have Coach Bickford serve in the role of Associate Head Coach. Her strong personality along with her fierce determination and commitment make her an asset for the program.”
Old Dominion won 11 of its last 13 matches, outscoring opponents 66-13 during the stretch. ODU also won eight of its last nine, while outscoring opponents 45-9.
The Atlantic region consists of 24 teams: Delaware, Duquesne, George Washington, Georgetown, Hampton, Howard, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Marshall, Maryland, Mount St. Mary’s, Navy, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pitt, Radford, Richmond, St. Joseph’s, Towson, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and William & Mary.
Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year
Atlantic Dominic Manilla - Old Dominion University
Carolina Jamie Ashworth - Duke University
Central Danielle Steinberg - Kansas State
Midwest Evan Clark - University of Illinois
Mountain Nicole Kenneally - University of Colorado, Boulder
Northeast Kristen Maines - University at Buffalo
Northwest Lele Forood - Stanford University
Ohio Valley Geoff MacDonald - Vanderbilt University
Southeast Jennifer Hyde - Florida State University
Southern Mark Beyers - Ole Miss
Southwest Per Nilsson - Pepperdine University
Texas Howard Joffe - University of Texas
tasc Performance ITA Assistant Coach of the Year
Atlantic Toni Bickford - Old Dominion University
Carolina Jeff Nevolo - University of South Carolina
Central Caroline Lilley - University of Kansas
Midwest Teryn Ashley-Fitch University of Michigan
Mountain Ewa Bogusz - Northern Arizona
Northeast Martha Rowley - West Point
Northwest Natalie Pluskota - Gonzaga University
Ohio Valley Aleke Tsoubanos - Vanderbilt University
Southeast Drake Bernstein - University of Georgia
Southern Chris Hooshyar - Auburn University
Southwest Matthew Langley - Arizona State University
Texas Taylor Fogleman - The University of Texas