Mark Johnson Named Central Region Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma head women's tennis coach Mark Johnson has been named the Central Region Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. It's the first time in Johnson's career to receive coach of the year honors on a national level. He earned Big 12 Tri-Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and was named Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1991, 1994 and 1995.

"Any time you win an award like this, I think it's really a reflection of how well your players have done and this team was certainly no exception," said Johnson. "Our players always did their best on and off the court and it showed this season."

In his 15th year as head coach at OU, Johnson led the Sooners to a 19-7 record including a berth in the 2003 NCAA Women's Tennis Team Championships. He is preparing to coach his fourth NCAA doubles team in junior Anda Perianu (Braila, Romania) and sophomore Heather Saluri (Des Moines, Iowa) and his first repeat NCAA singles qualifier in Perianu.

Johnson carries a career record of 242-118 (.672) and led his 1999 team to the championship match of the Big 12 Tournament. He has also coached five consecutive teams to ITA Academic All-America team honors dating back to the 1997 season.

Johnson has coached three other NCAA doubles qualifiers in Nicole Kenneally and Jenny Del Valle (1994), Monique Malan and Karla Golfin (1996) and Angela Stroup and Viviana Mracnova (2000) and three singles qualifiers in Kenneally (1994), current OU assistant coach Raluca Gheorghe (1998) and current Sooner Perianu (2002).

Perianu becomes the first player under Johnson since Kenneally to qualify for the individual singles and doubles portion of the the NCAA Championships.

The eight regional award winners are eligible for the national awards, which will be announced May 18 in Gainesville, Fla.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Mark Johnson Named Central Region Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year

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