Tempe, AZ – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association “ITA” is pleased to honor The University of Tulsa men’s tennis head coach Vince Westbrook as the recipient of the 2024 ITA Meritorious Service Award.
Given annually in recognition of an ITA coach who has made major contributions and shown commitment to the ITA and college tennis, the ITA Meritorious Service Award was founded in 2014 and has honored coaches from the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels of college tennis.
“Vince Westbrook has been an exemplary leader in college tennis for over three decades,” said ITA President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Timothy Russell. “He embodies the essence of the ITA Meritorious Service Award, having worked tirelessly over the long haul to advance our game, and promote the greater good. His efforts helped transform countless lives, a community, and an entire collegiate sport.”
Serving as The University of Tulsa men’s tennis head coach since 1991, Westbrook has set the standard for collegiate programs everywhere, turning the Golden Hurricane program into one of the most respected in the nation.
As Tulsa’s all-time winningest coach, Westbrook is on the verge of surpassing 500 career wins at the helm of the Golden Hurricane programs and has led the men’s tennis team to 19 NCAA Tournament appearances while collecting nine conference championships along the way. He has been named an ITA Regional Coach of the Year on five separate occasions and was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011.
Under Westbrook’s leadership, 12 players have earned ITA All-American honors and have had six ITA Central Region Champions. His Golden Hurricane teams have earned 54 victories over top-30 teams and have risen as high as No. 8 within the ITA Division I Men’s National Collegiate Team Rankings in 2008.
Sporting a resume much deeper than just on-court accolades, Westbrook has been one of the most active head coaches when it comes to giving back to our sport. Currently, Westbrook serves on the ITA Board of Directors and is an executive committee member where he gives critical insight about the future of our sport. Previously, Westbrook has served on the NCAA National Tennis Committee and has served as an ITA Regional Chair for over 20 years.
Another one of Westbrook’s shining accomplishments during his time at Tulsa was the construction of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, a now iconic collegiate facility that welcomes thousands of fans each year. Since opening, the Michael D. Case Tennis Center has been named the 2003 USTA Most Outstanding Collegiate Tennis Center and has hosted three NCAA Division I Tennis Championships in 2004, 2008, and 2016.
Working alongside the ITA, the Michael D. Case Tennis Center and Westbrook have hosted the ITA Men’s All-American Championships, one of the most distinguished events on the college tennis calendar, every year since 2005 and will do so once again this year when the nation’s top players meet in Tulsa from September 21-29.
Previous winners of the Meritorious Service Award are Dave Fish (2014), Ann Lebedeff (2015), Sheila McInerney (2016), Peter Wright (2017), Bill Richards (2018), Chris Davis (2019), Bev Buckley (2020), Chase Hodges (2021), and John Shackelford (2023).
About the ITA: The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. Comprising 1,260 colleges and universities, 20,000 student-athletes, 1,700 varsity programs, 3,000 coaches, and 1,350 college tennis officials, the ITA empowers college tennis coaches at all levels to deliver vibrant tennis programs that are vital to their college communities and transformational to their student-athletes. Follow the college tennis season on the ITA website and ITA social channels on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
