By Sally Milano, USTA.com
North Carolina's Jamie Loeb and UCLA's Marcos Giron have been named the 2014 ITA National College Players of the Year, an award given to the male and female singles players who have had the most outstanding seasons in Division I college tennis.
Loeb, a freshman, wrapped up an impressive season with a 53-4 singles record – the 53 wins is more than any other woman in UNC program history – including a 19-1 mark in the fall. The 19-year-old won singles titles at the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship, and she has been ranked No. 1 in the ITA Division I National Singles Rankings since Feb. 11.
Loeb, an ITA All-American in both singles and doubles, was also named the 2014 ITA National Rookie of the Year. She led the Tar Heels to a runner-up finish at the 2014 NCAA Team Championships, the first national championship match in program history.
Giron ended a successful junior season as the Bruins' 11th NCAA singles champion and first since Benjamin Kohlloeffel won the title in 2006. He was ranked a career-high No. 2 heading into the NCAA Championships, and his win helped him secure the No. 1 ranking in the final standings. Giron finished the year with a 30-5 singles record, his second-straight 30-win season, and he scored 18 wins over ranked opponents.
Giron has been ranked in the Top 5 of the ITA Division I Singles Rankings since Feb. 11. He is a two-time ITA All-American in singles, also earning the honor in 2013.
In doubles, Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen were named the ITA National Women's Doubles Team of the Year, and Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese of Tennessee received Men's Doubles Team of the Year honors.
Routliffe and Jansen surged to the No. 1 ranking after taking home the 2014 NCAA Women's Doubles Championship. Routliffe and Jansen finished the season with a 22-4 record, including winning their final 10 matches, as they helped their team to a final ranking of No. 6 in the ITA Team Rankings, the best in program history.
Libietis and Reese ended the season at No. 1 in the ITA Division I Doubles Rankings after winning Tennessee's second-ever NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo finished with a 36-5 record and went 13-1 during major tournaments this year, also winning the 2013 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships and finishing runner-up at the 2013 USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
The players will be honored on July 12 in Newport, R.I., at a special awards luncheon during the Rolex Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend and immediately prior to the 2014 International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.