Men's Tennis: Barker, Ladhani Earn ITA Region VI Kudos
5/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 11, 2001
HOUSTON - Rice freshman Richard Barker and assistant coach Shaheen Ladhani each received top honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for Region VI, the organization announced Friday.
Barker was named the Region VI rookie player of the year for his outstanding play this season. Playing in the Owls' number one singles position, Barker won his first 10 dual matches and finished the regular season with a 15-7 record. He was also a perfect 9-0 at number-one doubles when paired with his brother, freshman William Barker.
This is Richard Barker's second newcomer award. Two weeks ago he received the Western Athletic Conference's freshman of the year award, in addition to being named to the all-WAC first team for singles and second team for doubles. Barker was also named the Owls' most valuable player at Rice's all sports banquet in April.
Ladhani was named the Region VI assistant coach of the year for his efforts in guiding the Owls to a 21-8 record. Under his tutelage, Rice opened the dual-match season with 14 consecutive victories and finished the season with wins over nine ranked teams.
Ladhani is in his fourth season as the assistant coach for the Owls after serving the 1997 season as the interim head coach. He is a 1997 Rice graduate and was named the tennis team's most valuable player in 1995.
With the regional honors, both Barker and Ladhani are now finalists for the ITA's national award.
Barker and Ladhani join the rest of the 36th-ranked Owls in Durham, N.C. this weekend for the first round of the NCAA championships. Rice faces 21st-ranked Auburn Saturday at noon. A Rice victory would advance the team to a second round meeting on Sunday against the winner of the Duke/Hampton match.
