Courtesy Tufts/USTA New England

WESTBORO, Mass. – Tufts University women's tennis head coach Kate Bayard has been selected by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) New England as the 2009 College Coach of the Year, presented to the college tennis coach in New England who showed dedication to the sport of tennis and successfully transferred that enthusiasm to team members.

Bayard's team has been ranked among the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) national top 16 for the last three years, peaking this past fall at No. 10. That is 17 spots higher than when Bayard took over the reigns as head coach in 2005. In the very competitive ITA Northeast Region, which includes two-time defending national champion Williams College, Tufts finished the year ranked fourth. Tufts reached the NCAA team regional finals this year for the second time in the past three years.

Following the 2009 season, Coach Bayard was named both ITA Northeast Coach of the Year and NESCAC Coach of the Year . She enters her 14th year as a tennis coach. She has spent approximately half of her college coaching career in Division I and half in Division III. Bayard has coached at Yale, Wellesley and Dartmouth and enters her eighth year as a head college coach. In addition to coaching at the college level, Bayard has coached players of all levels and ages throughout her career.

Bayard was also instrumental in helping form a Tennis on Campus Program at Tufts University. She will be honored at USTA New England's annual award ceremony, which takes place next month in Marlboro.

The USTA New England, one of 17 regional sections across the country that comprise the United States Tennis Association (USTA), is a not-for-profit organization boasting more than 33,000 members and committed to promoting and developing the growth of tennis and increasing participation in the sport in New England by offering quality recreational and competitive programs for people of all ages and abilities.

For more information, log on to ustanewengland.com.