Utah, BYU tennis: Brad Pearce, Mat Iandolo selected as MWC coaches of the year

COLORADO SPRINGS — BYU's Brad Pearce and Utah's Mat Iandolo have been selected to receive the 2009-10 Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Tennis Coach of the Year award, respectively, in a vote by the league's head coaches.

The MWC Men's Coach of the Year award goes to Pearce, who's now in his seventh year at the helm of the Cougars' program. He guided 34th-ranked BYU to the 2010 MWC men's regular-season title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. The Cougars finished first in the regular-season standings with a perfect 6-0 record in league matches and a 21-6 overall mark.

This is the first time Pearce has earned league coach of the year honors. BYU will begin its run in the 2010 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships next Friday, May 14, when it battles No. 28 Fresno State in first-round action in Los Angeles at Marks Stadium on the USC campus.

Iandolo captured his first MWC Women's Coach of the Year honor after guiding 40th-ranked Utah to a 17-7 overall record and an 8-0 mark in MWC matches during the regular season. Now in his third season as Utah's head coach, Iandolo led the Utes to the conference regular-season title and their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998.

He also guided Utah to its first regular season conference championship since 1983, and its first as a member of the Mountain West Conference.

Iandolo's Coach of the Year award is actually the third of his career, including two in the Big 10 (1998 and 2003) as the head coach at Purdue. He is the first Utah women's tennis coach to earn Coach of the Year honors since at least 1991.