UF Men’s Tennis: Shelton, Stump Earn ITA National Coaching Honors
Courtesy of University Athletic Association
BY KATIE CALLAHAN
Bryan Shelton named ITA National COY, Stump named Assistant COY
The accolades continue to roll in for the 2021 men’s tennis national championship team as Bryan Shelton and Tanner Stump were awarded ITA National Coach of the Year honors, the organization announced Monday.
Shelton, who led the Gators to the first national championship in school history, was tabbed as the ITA Coach of the Year.
Stump, who has been with UF for five seasons, was recognized as the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Bryan Shelton
This is the second time that Shelton has been tabbed as the ITA National Coach of the Year, as he earned the honor back in 2007 with the Georgia Tech women’s team.
He was also named ITA Southeast Regional Coach of the year for the second time in three seasons and picked up Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career during the 2021 campaign.
In addition to the national championship, Shelton’s 2021 squad won the SEC title, and junior Sam Riffice was crowned as the NCAA Singles Champion. His team’s 26 wins were also the second most in school history and the best mark under Shelton.
Shelton became the first head coach in DI college tennis history to win a women’s national title (2007 at Georgia Tech) and a men’s national championship. He is the 24th coach across all NCAA sports to lead two different programs to a national team title. Of those 24, Shelton is the fifth to coach a national championship team in a men’s AND women’s sport.
For the second time in three years, Florida went undefeated in SEC play and undefeated at home overall.
Tanner Stump
In Stump’s five seasons at Florida, he has helped guide the Gators to a 104-29 overall record, one NCAA title, one NCAA singles title, two SEC titles, and four NCAA Tournament appearances, gradually improving their run each season (Sweet 16 in 2017, Elite 8 in 2018, Final 4 in 2019, and national champions in 2021).
The teams have also compiled a 45-7 record in the SEC, including a perfect 12-0 in 2019 & 2021 and the first SEC Championship for Florida since 2005 in 2019. He has coached six players to a total of 17 All-American honors in five years.
He has also coached UF student-athletes to two SEC Freshman of the Year honors (Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice) and 19 All-SEC accolades over the years.