STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men's tennis' James and Martha Poppy Associate Head Coach, Brandon Coupe, has been voted the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Assistant Coach of the Year.
Coupe, along with Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis Paul Goldstein, engineered Stanford's best season in 15 years in 2018. The Cardinal finished 22-4, earning a top-five ranking in the ITA poll for 13 consecutive weeks, and a No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Championship. Stanford reached the second round of the NCAA Championship, posting its best win total (22) and winning percentage (.846) since the 2003 season. The Cardinal, ranked as high as No. 2 in the ITA poll during the season, finished second in the Pac-12 Conference with a 7-1 record.
A well-deserved honor by @ITA_Tennis for Brandon Coupe. #GoStanford
— Stanford Men's Tennis (@StanfordTennis) May 24, 2018
?? https://t.co/AvwnBzZlXf pic.twitter.com/VQL3iq3hEv
In his 11th season as a coach at Stanford, Coupe helped develop a 2018 lineup that was highlighted by three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams throughout the season. Stanford posted its best regular-season record (20-2) since 2001 and registered a perfect 11-0 regular-season record at home. The Cardinal, which defeated 12 nationally-ranked opponents and recorded 11 shutouts on the year, reached the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship. Stanford's 12 wins over nationally-ranked opponents included five consecutive victories over top-12 teams in February. Stanford beat four top-10 teams in No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 USC, No. 6 UCLA and No. 10 Illinois.
Coupe helped coach All-American Tom Fawcett, who completed his singles career 27th on Stanford's all-time dual wins list with 53. Fawcett was ranked in the top-10 among singles players in the ITA for the majority of the season.
Coupe was one of four members of the Cardinal to earn ITA Northwest Region honors last week, joining Goldstein (ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year), Fawcett (ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year) and freshman Axel Geller (ITA Northwest Region Rookie of the Year).