The University of Mississippi Athletics
Muzamel, Montgomery Headline ITA South Region Awards
6/21/1999 | Women's Tennis
May 12, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss women's tennis head coach Jerry Montgomery and senior Agnes Muzamel headlined the award winners for the ITA South Region, which were announced Wednesday.
Ole Miss took home five of the seven awards given out each year. Montgomery earned South Region Coach-of-the-Year honors. He led the Lady Rebels to a 21-4 regular season record and their first ever SEC Tournament title. Montgomery was also named SEC Coach-of-the- Year.
Muzamel received the Senior-Player-of-the-Year award. She is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in singles with a 24-12 overall record. She has been ranked among the top five all season and has led the Lady Rebels to one of the best seasons in the program's history. Muzamel, a three-time All-American and four-time All-SEC, needs only four more wins to become the all-time career singles leader at Ole Miss.
Senior Courtenay Chapman picked up the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award, which is given to the player, who best exemplifies athletic accomplishments, academic achievements and extracurricular activities.
During her four years, Chapman has earned All-America honors three times while maintaining an overall grade point average of better than a 3.5 in the classroom. In addition, Chapman is also a member of a sorority. Chapman was named the Most Valuable Player of the SEC Tournament and this past Saturday, she graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Ivona Mihailova earned the Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship, given to the player, who demonstrates sportsmanship and character in addition to their athletic and academic achievements. Mihailova posted an impressive 19-1 record at No. 3 singles including a 10-0 record in the SEC. She teamed with her sister Irena to clinch the SEC Tournament title for the Lady Rebels. Off the court, Mihailova made the SEC Academic Honor Roll and the Chancellor's Honor Roll.
Assistant coach Kevin Cory was named Co-Assistant Coach-of-the-Year for the South Region along with Georgia's Debbie Beck. Cory was selected for the second consecutive year. Last year he won the National Assistant Coach-of-the-Year Award. Cory managed the daily affairs of the women's tennis program for about a month, while Montgomery's youngest daughter was in the hospital. He coached two matches by himself, including against No. 3 ranked Georgia in Athens.
This marks the fifth year in a row, that Ole Miss has received at least one of the seven ITA regional awards. Montgomery, Muzamel, Chapman, Mihailova and Cory now join the winners from the other five regions on the ballot for the national awards.
