The Board of Directors of the USTA’s Allegheny Mountain District, Middle States Section has announced the Annual Award winners for 2011 in eight categories. The winners are:
Collegiate Coach of the Year -- Jared Luteran, head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa.. Allegheny has been successful both on and off the courts, with players logging more than 9,000 hours of community service during Luteran’s 9-year tenure.
High School Coach of the Year -- Augie Garofoli, head boys’ tennis coach at Mt. Lebanon High School, which won the Class AAA WPIAL boys’ team title for the first time since 1994 in May.
Family of the Year – The Dr. Louis and Vida Komer family of Peters Township, Pa., whose daughters, Vida, 16, Sara, 14, and Anna, 12, all qualified for Middle States Zonal teams this year.
Pro of the Year -- Rob Gregoire, head teaching pro and partner at Alpha Tennis and Fitness, Harmarville, Pa.
Organization of the Year -- Alpha Tennis and Fitness of Harmarville, Pa., suburban Pittsburgh’s first new indoor tennis facility in recent years.
Lifetime Achievement -- Jack Gloss, 75, who has taught tennis to children in the district for 50 years, most notably for 25 years in Mt. Lebanon but also early on in McKeesport, Monroeville, South Park, and Hidden Valley and more recently in Upper St. Clair and at Oxford North.
Media Award – The Nutting Family of Wheeling, W.Va, publishers of The Wheeling Intelligencer.
Volunteer of the Year -- John Kirsch, a long-standing captain of a 3.5 men’s league tennis team in Wexford.
Middle States Section also has selected The Wheeling Intelligencer for its Media Excellence Award and Larry Peterson, head women’s tennis coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, for its Edwin J. Faulkner College Coach Award.
The AMD Award winners were screened by a committee of the board, based on nominations received, and approved by the full board at its December meeting. They will be honored this spring at the district’s Annual Award dinner, along with the 2011 top-ranked adults and junior players.