Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Three Blue Raiders receive ITA Ohio Valley Awards
6/13/2024 2:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's tennis' Associate Head Coach Andrea Caligiana, senior Leo Raquin and redshirt senior Demis Taramonlis added additional hardware this season, receiving Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley awards on Wednesday, June 12.
"All of these awards are impressive accomplishments," said MTSU Head Coach Jimmy Borendame. "Demis has been outstanding on and off the court and I wish we could have had him around for years. Leo's most improved award is a credit to the higher level of daily focus he put in throughout the year from day one. In my opinion, Coach Caligiana could have won this award four years in a row by now. He goes all in and he is the backbone of the program. As for the community service award, this will always be a pillar of our program and it shows when we have an average of well over 200 plus fans per home match during the season. We are proud of all these awards."
Coach Cailigiana was tabbed ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. He has led the Blue Raiders to a 21-10 record this season and to a fifth consecutive Conference USA title. The team has earned eight Power-5 wins and six ranked victories over the course of the spring. He has helped seven Blue Raiders earn CUSA Athlete of the Week honors just this spring, the most in a season while at MTSU. For the CUSA postseason awards, eight Blue Raiders were awarded for their play this spring. This season the squad has been ranked as high as No. 27 according to the ITA and finished with a rank of No. 33.
Raquin was named ITA Ohio Valley Most Improved Senior Award as he finished the season with a 56-22 record in singles and doubles combined this season. He finishes his collegiate career with a combined total of 100 wins. The native of France earned Conference USA Player and Newcomer of the Year as well as All-CUSA First Team in Singles and Doubles. Raquin was ranked as high as No. 18 in singles and No. 25 in doubles this season.
Taramonlis earned the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. This award is presented to the men's and women's national student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Demis finishes his collegiate college with a combined total of 111 wins in singles and doubles. He earned All-CUSA First Team Singles this spring. For his career, the native of Greece has been named to the Big South All-Conference First Team for Singles and Doubles, as well as receiving recognition as the Big South Player of the Year and earning the prestigious ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year award.
The team received ITA Community Service Honorable Mention for their work in the surrounding community. As a team, MTSU tallied over 100 hours of community service. The Blue Raiders hosted tennis clinics for the youth and the community of Murfreesboro and participated in Reading Day Discovery School.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
"All of these awards are impressive accomplishments," said MTSU Head Coach Jimmy Borendame. "Demis has been outstanding on and off the court and I wish we could have had him around for years. Leo's most improved award is a credit to the higher level of daily focus he put in throughout the year from day one. In my opinion, Coach Caligiana could have won this award four years in a row by now. He goes all in and he is the backbone of the program. As for the community service award, this will always be a pillar of our program and it shows when we have an average of well over 200 plus fans per home match during the season. We are proud of all these awards."
Coach Cailigiana was tabbed ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. He has led the Blue Raiders to a 21-10 record this season and to a fifth consecutive Conference USA title. The team has earned eight Power-5 wins and six ranked victories over the course of the spring. He has helped seven Blue Raiders earn CUSA Athlete of the Week honors just this spring, the most in a season while at MTSU. For the CUSA postseason awards, eight Blue Raiders were awarded for their play this spring. This season the squad has been ranked as high as No. 27 according to the ITA and finished with a rank of No. 33.
Raquin was named ITA Ohio Valley Most Improved Senior Award as he finished the season with a 56-22 record in singles and doubles combined this season. He finishes his collegiate career with a combined total of 100 wins. The native of France earned Conference USA Player and Newcomer of the Year as well as All-CUSA First Team in Singles and Doubles. Raquin was ranked as high as No. 18 in singles and No. 25 in doubles this season.
Taramonlis earned the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. This award is presented to the men's and women's national student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Demis finishes his collegiate college with a combined total of 111 wins in singles and doubles. He earned All-CUSA First Team Singles this spring. For his career, the native of Greece has been named to the Big South All-Conference First Team for Singles and Doubles, as well as receiving recognition as the Big South Player of the Year and earning the prestigious ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year award.
The team received ITA Community Service Honorable Mention for their work in the surrounding community. As a team, MTSU tallied over 100 hours of community service. The Blue Raiders hosted tennis clinics for the youth and the community of Murfreesboro and participated in Reading Day Discovery School.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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