ATLANTA — (April 30) Georgia Tech’s Benjamin Cassaigne (Paris, France) was named the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, and head men’s coach Kenny Thorne was tabbed ACC Coach of the Year, the conference office announced.
Cassaigne and fellow senior Matt Cozad (St. Petersburg, Fla.) were also named to the 1999 men’s tennis all-conference team, while freshman Mason Miller (Gainesville, Ga.) was an all-ACC selection for the Georgia Tech women.
Voting for conference tennis honors was conducted by the league’s head coaches.
Cassaigne earned all-ACC honors for the third straight year and became just the second Tech player in school history to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors. Jens Skjoedt was named ACC Player of the Year for the Yellow Jackets in 1990. Cassaigne is currently 24-5 overall in singles and ranked 23rd nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He was also the ACC Flight Champion at No. 1 singles with a 7-1 mark in conference play.
“Benjamin is certainly deserving of this award,” Thorne said. “He has had a very incredible year and a very consistent year throughout. He proved himself at the No. 1 position inside and outside of the ACC. It’s great for him to go out his senior year with such a prestigious award.”
In his first year at the Georgia Tech helm, Thorne guided the Yellow Jackets to a second-place finish in the ACC and a berth in the finals of conference tournament for the first time since 1994. Tech is currently 15-7 overall and finished 6-2 in the ACC. The Jackets are currently ranked 46th by the ITA.
“This is definitely an honor because it is a recognition by your coaching peers,” Thorne said. “The award is really a reflection of our players and what they did with their talents. I am most proud of them for what they have accomplished this season.”
Cozad earned his first all-ACC honor this season after concluding regular-season play with an 18-11 overall singles mark. He captured the 1999 ACC Flight Championship at No. 2 singles and at No. 3 doubles along with sophomore partner Sergio Aguirre (Atlanta, Ga.). Cozad finished 6-1 in the ACC at No. 2 singles and was 7-1 along with Aguirre at No. 3 doubles.
Miller became the second Tech freshman in as many seasons to earn all-ACC honors for the Yellow Jacket women’s squad. Miller finished first on the team with 21 doubles victories and was second on the squad with 19 singles wins. Miller and junior Sabrina Pardo (Aix En Provence, France) finished the regular season 11-4 overall in doubles and are currently 31st in the ITA women’s doubles rankings.
