Denison & DePauw Win ITA Regional Awards

| By: Haiden Diemer-McKinney, Wabash '26
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 2025 tennis regional award recipients on Monday, May 19, with three representatives from the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) earning awards. 

ITA Men’s Coach of the Year: David Schilling, Denison University
Denison Head Coach David Schilling was named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year, claiming the honor for the second time in his career (2022). Schilling led the Big Red to a 28-2 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. Denison also won the NCAC regular season title, the NCAC tournament championship, and the program’s first-ever NCAA National Championship. Since joining Denison in 2020, Schilling has compiled a 107-18 (.856) overall record, securing four NCAC championship titles and three NCAC tournament titles.

ITA Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year: Grant MacPherson, Denison University
Denison earned its second honor with Grant MacPherson obtaining the ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year award. In two years with the program, MacPherson has contributed to a 48-7 overall record, back-to-back NCAC Championship and Tournament Titles and Denison’s first NCAA National Championship.

ITA Men’s Most Improved Player: Finley Buelte, DePauw University
DePauw junior Finley Buelte (Rockford, IL/Rockford Christian) was named the ITA Central Region Most Improved Player in a breakout 2024-25 season. After notching eight singles wins as a sophomore, Buelte more than doubled that total this year with a 19-6 record in singles play, going 6-1 in NCAC matches. The junior also went 16-4 in doubles alongside first-year Will Cramer (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville), an improvement from last year’s nine wins in doubles play. Buelte earned first team All-NCAC honors in both singles and doubles this season, a leap forward after back-to-back second-team recognitions in 2023 and 2024. 

ITA Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year: Logan Snyder, DePauw University
The Tigers picked up another honor as Logan Snyder was tabbed the ITA Central Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Snyder was part of a 12-10 season with a 4-2 mark in league play. He also helped the Tigers reach the semifinal round of the NCAC Women’s Tennis Tournament for the second year in a row.

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