Sooners Earn ITA Accolades

May 19, 2011

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma men's tennis program collected three ITA honors as Silviu Tanasoiu was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year, while senior Ionut Beleleu was awarded the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award and the Senior of the Year honor, all in the central region.

The ITA awards each of these and other honors to coaches and players from each of the 12 regions.

Tanasoiu is in his fifth season at OU, where he was a former standout tennis player and three-year letterwinner while competing for the Sooners from 2003-2005. This is Tanasoiu's second straight national coaching award.

"Silviu is a temendous asset to our program," John Roddick said. "He is a tireless worker and tremendous recruiter."

Beleleu, 2010 ITA Central Region Champion, led the Sooners at the No. 1 position for the majority of the year where he accumulated a singles record of 13-9 and is currently ranked No. 24-nationally. Beleleu boasts a career record of 94-43 in singles and 59-56 in doubles. The Zalua, Romania native is a two-time first team All-Big 12 and Academic All-Big 12 team member.

Beleleu, along with sophomore Costin Paval, will take to the courts on May 25-28 in the singles portion of the 2011 NCAA Championships at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., following the conclusion of the team championship.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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