May 15, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced that assistant men's tennis coach Mark Finnegan has been named the ITA Ohio Valley Region Assistant Coach of the Year, marking the first time in program history that a coach at the U of M has received an accolade.

"Mark has done an amazing job with our program," said head coach Paul Goebel. "His work ethic and dedication has made our program competitive on a national level. This is a big honor as we had nine teams from our region make the NCAA tournament and there are 25 schools in the region. "

Finnegan was instrumental in helping the Tigers to a 19-6 record and a national ranking of No. 31. Memphis finished second in both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament, en route to the program's first bid into the NCAA Championships.

"Our NCAA appearance would not have been possible without him and the future for the Memphis tennis program is very bright," stated Goebel.

Finnegan is a 2004 graduate of the U of M with a degree in Finance. The native of Newbridge Town, Ireland, recorded 28 singles wins and 12 doubles victories during his two-year tenure on the courts for Memphis.