May 21, 2018
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its Division I Regional Awards on Monday, with two University of Notre Dame representatives earning honors for the Midwest Region.
Associate head coach Adam Schaechterle earned the honor as the region’s tasc Performance Assistant Coach of the Year, while junior Alex Lebedev claimed Player to Watch recognition. National award winners will be announced Wednesday.
Schaechterle earned the honor in his fifth season with the program, as the Irish went 19-14 and finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He helped guide the team to its first ITA National Indoor Team Championship appearance since 2014, as well as its first ACC Championship semifinal appearance and NCAA Championship victory since that same season. Schaechterle was also integral in the development of Lebedev, who climbed as high as No. 28 in the national singles rankings, as well as the doubles pairing of Brendon Kempin and Tristan McCormick, who also ranked as high as No. 28 nationally.
The last Irish assistant to earn the regional coach of the year honor was current Callaghan Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ryan Sachire, who claimed the honor in 2011 as an assistant under Bobby Bayliss.
Schaechterle will take over as head coach at Pepperdine, concluding his tenure at Notre Dame on June 1.
The Player to Watch honor is the latest for Lebedev, who was named to the All-ACC Second Team earlier this month. A native of Island Park, New York, Lebedev has led the Irish atop the lineup this season and currently ranks at No. 34 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings. He boasts an 19-14 overall record, including 11-10 in dual matches, and he his 5-2 in his last 10 contests (three unfinished matches). Since last summer, Lebedev has assembled a resume that includes the ITA Summer National Championship title, trips to the Round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championship and ITA Fall National Championship and nine victories over ranked opponents. Lebedev will also compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, May 23-28 at Wake Forest.
The Irish have had two players previously named Player to Watch for the Midwest Region: current volunteer assistant Greg Andrews (’14) in 2012 and Quentin Monaghan (’16) in 2015. Irish legend David DiLucia was named the National ITA Player to Watch in 1990.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.