The 2008 CollegeClubTennis.Com Awards are out! Nominations came from over 30 different people from across the country and then were voted on by the Advisory Board. Below are all 8 awards:

Most Improved Team- UMBC.. The UMBC (University of Maryland- Baltimore County) Tennis Club was formed by Alex Chan 3 years ago in the spring of 2005. In three years, they've gone from a small club to an organized team that competes in tournaments and matches throughout the region.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "Big jump in rankings from previous years; from around the 130s to the 30s/40s now"

- "Admitted into UMBC's Sports Club Council, which can only have at most 24 sports club represented, largely due to club's performance this year"

- "Greatly improved leadership compared to last year, their current officers have made every effort to make matches happen, or to reschedule rained out matches"

UMBC Tennis Club President Alex Chan says, "I just wanted to say that our club is extremely grateful and excited that we won the Most Improved Team award. We've worked really hard to make our club the best we can be ever since our humble beginnings a couple of years ago and I'm so proud of everyone that have contributed. I'm glad that our results and vast improvement this year has gotten recognition by national club tennis leaders and I hope that we will continue to impress in the future."

Tournament of the Year- The Badger Classic. Outside of the USTA Campus Championships (National and Sectional events), few opportunities exist to bring club teams from throughout the region and country together to compete. The Badger Classic, started and run by Andy Rebhun of Wisconsin, was to do just that. In November 2007 teams from throughout the country flocked to Madison, WI to compete. These included top teams such as Colorado, Texas, Delaware, and Portland State, proving that the competition was some of the best in the country.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "The tournament had 25 unique teams, 32 teams total, multiple sponsors, and was one of the most exciting tennis events I have ever seen."

- "A very well organized tournament with teams from all over the country competing. Only 3 years old, but improving organizationally and competition-wise each year."

- "The tournament was run very smoothly and many free things were given away. It was the most fun my team had all year."

Badger Classic Tournament Director Andy Rebhun says, "The Badger Classic was a vision that I had after going to nationals my sophomore year. The Classic has grown considerably since a lot of the teams put faith in our tournament and we were able to secure numerous sponsors. This tournament is truly a blessing to have been considered one of the premire tournaments that the club tennis world offers. The Badger Classic would like to thank all the teams that have attended consistently the last three years and especially those teamn that have travelled far and wide from across the country."

Most Traveled Team- Wisconsin. While the Badgers had plenty of home matches this year, and also hosted the Midwest Campus Championships and Badger Classic, they still wanted to travel around the country to play tennis and have fun. Like other club teams, they played in their Section, but also went to New Orleans to play LSU and Tulane, and Southern California to play UCLA, USC, and Cal-Poly. During these trips they also managed to have a little fun, attending Mardi Gras and the Price is Right.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "Played matches/tournaments in California and New Orleans, in addition to the normal Midwest venues such as Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Also, will be playing at Nationals in N. Carolina."

- "They also make a point to always stay the nights during away matches, which has to count for something."

- "Trips to California and Lousiana in addition to the fact that they put together the most geographical diverse tournament in the country."

Wisconsin Club Tennis President Andy Rebhun says, "Our team has been very fortunate to have had many opportunities to travel this year. We have travelled all across the midwest, to California, and New Orleans. We wouldn't have had the opportunity to travel as much if there wasn't such enthusiasm from our team to work hard together and want to venture out to all these places."

Club Tennis Leader of the Year- Andy Rebhun, Wisconsin. In his four years at Wisconsin, Andy has done just about anything anybody can do in the club tennis world. Wisconsin competes in the Midwest League, but also makes a point to go outside the Section to compete against teams. He hosted the Badger Classic, which is one of the best tournaments in the country. Andy is also very active within his Section and serves on the CollegeClubTennis.Com Advisory Board. In addition to all this, he makes sure that his club gives back with community service such as Relay for Life.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "Organized, great interpersonal skills, builds strong relationships with other club teams, professional, strong-willed, involved, and passionate about club tennis."

- "President of University of Wisconsin. Organized numerous events, led Wisconsin to its highest ranking in history, and grew enormously in population."

- "We should just call this the Andy Rebhun Award after this season. Whether it be acquiring sponsorship, running an event, or planning trips, no one matches Andy."

Wisconsin Club Tennis President Andy Rebhun says, "Don't cry because its over. Be glad that it happened. Throughout my last 3 years as the leader of the University of Wisconsin Madison I have been priveledged to come across so many amazing individuals and I must give credit to the leaders of all the other club tennis teams, the folks at the USTA and NIRSA, and most of all my club tennis team. It is always an honor to be recognized by your peers and I can't thank them enough for their nominations and votes. I would like to take this time to recognize those leaders who have made a big impact in my life and also deserve recognition for the fabulous job they do with their tennis on campus programs. Shane Baker at Delaware, Howie Lamm at Illinois, Jim Kultgen at UW Whitewater, Jenny Kapp at UW Milwaukee, Richard Crockett and Brandon Jackson at Minnesota, George Chen at UT Austin, Molly Levenson at Indiana, Ryan Duscherer at Marquette, Rohan and Steve at Michigan, Kristen Schulz at Miami, Nick Schulz at Northwestern, Emily Wyatt at UCLA, and all other club tennis presidents I have been fortunately able to work with the last few years. You all have been amazing to work with and I know many of you will be lifelong friends. Club tennis has given me amazing opportunities that I can't really thank it enough for. Thank you to Justin for doing a great job on the website and keeping the club tennis world informed. To all those who I have met through club tennis and not mentioned in this speech thank you for making such a profound impact on my life."

New Team of the Year- Drexel.. Drexel came into this season only having an intramural program. This year, they came out with a bang, competing in 4 tournaments, many matches, as well as their first USTA Campus Championships. This Philadelphia college is a growing club, and expect to see them at tournamnts throughout the East Coast and the country for years to come.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "This is their first year as a club team, and they have participated in the campus championships as well as the Philly league. They are also hosting the first annual city 6 tennis tournament, and plan on traveling to nationals and Syracuse for tournaments. Most all of the members are freshman and they have done an excellent job organizing, fundrasing, and practicing."

- "They were able to go to the Battle of the Sections before their school year even started. Have helped grow their team by making club tennis aware on campus. Are hosting their own tournament in just their first full year."

- "Drexel's Club Tennis team has done a great job as a club and as a team, as its created an expanding tennis environment on campus, while also creating a competitive team that represents Drexel at tournaments and matches. Our dedication to tennis can also be seen with our National Ranking (75th). "

Drexel Tennis Club President Shams Naim says, "It's been a fast ride since starting the team. It's been great since we've had a lot of support from both athletics and students in general, with their enthusiasm to play tennis. Lenny Maher and Elsy Escalon should be recognized for their leadership as it wouldn't have happened without them. "

Best Club Tennis Website- Wisconsin. Websites are important for a club tennis program. It serves as the main form of communication to not only players, but parents, friends, fans, and even prospective members. Wisconsin's website is always up to date with information about what's going on in their world.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "Andy Rebhun put so much time into the website, including player profiles with their own personal song choice. He updates it regularly with new pictures, match summarys and the teams schedule."

- "Attractive, informative, and interesting."

- "The website is updated often. I have not seen another website that even compares. It has a lot of information and is actually useful."

Wisconsin Club Tennis President Andy Rebhun says, "The Wisconsin Club Tennis website has grown in sophistication as well as users visited the last few years. It takes a long time to keep the website up and running and it takes a lot of work but it is all worth it due to the amount of people interested in the Badger Classic as well as Wisconsin Club Tennis. We look forward to keeping our website up to date in the future."

Community Service/Outreach Award- Delaware. Delaware Club Tennis President Shane Baker started out the year wanting to not only give back to the community, but also have it act as a fundraiser for the team. So he went out to the schools of Newark, DE, and started an after-school tennis and tutoring program. For a small rate that went to the Tennis Club, Delaware's program provided education and a little bit of tennis on a Saturday afternoon.

Notes from the Nominations:

- "In need of funds, Shane Baker and the Delaware team organized an after-school program for kids in which they received a tennis clinic, and after-school tutoring for a couple weeks for only $10. The whole team stepped up and joined in, helping kids in the community."

- "Not only helps raise money, but is fun for the players to participate in. It also helps kids with their tennis skills, and schoolwork. It also has the possibility to bring a kid into tennis who has never played before and might like it."

Delaware Tennis Club President Shane Baker says, "The Delaware Club Tennis Team was pleased to find something not only fun and profitable for their own team, but also exciting and educational for the kids that are involved with the program. We all love to play tennis and act like a bunch of little kids, so doing the clinic and tutoring fundraisers is right up our alley. We would like to thank everyone who thinks that this is a beneficial community program and we also hope that others can adopt it and have the fun and success that we have gotten from it."

CollegeClubTennis.Com National Champion- Texas. Texas started out the year strong, helping out their ranking in a large part by winning the Trinity and the Houston Regional Tournament. During the next couple months they followed up getting to the final of the Badger Classic, Central Texas Region Tournament, and the Texas Campus Championships. Finally when it came to defending points at the USTA Campus Championships from last year, they took the draw by storm, winning the tournament, and taking 1st place in the rankings for the first time.

Texas Club Tennis Captain George Chen says, "We knew we could have a magical season when we started the season off winning the first tournament of the year by beating A&M along the way. Went to the Badger Classic and barely losing by 1 game and our campus sectionals by 2 games to A&M in their home court. Those losses in the final prepared us mentally and probably played a huge role in helping us win nationals especially when we were down 8 games after the first two matches. I would like to thank all the teams that cheered for us in the finals. I didn't even realize we knew so many teams."