2000 Tachikara/AVCA JC/CC Region Coaches of the Year

Colorado Springs, Colo. - The following coaches have been selected by their region as Tachikara/AVCA Region Coach of the Year.  Two coaches from each region have been honored.  Each of the honorees will represent their region on the Tachikara/AVCA National Junior/Community College Coach of the Year ballot.  The awards will be officially presented at the Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year banquet in Richmond, Virginia on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2000 at the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Convention.

Midwest Region
Trish Knight, Southwest Missouri State-West Plains
Coach Knight led Southwest Missouri State-West Plains to a 47-6 record in 2000 to improve upon last year's 42-16 finish. SWMS-WP finished seventh in the 2000 NJCAA National Tournament after winning the Region XVI championship. Knight, who was named the Region XVI Coach of the Year and District H Coach of the Year, led her team to four tournament championships in 2000. She tallied her 300th win during the 2000 season.

Kym McKay, Joliet Junior College
In just her second season as the head volleyball coach at Joliet Junior College, Coach McKay took the 1999 team which ended with a 15-21 overall record, to a 32-11 record in 2000 and a No. 4 ranking in the final national poll. Joliet entered the regional tournament as the No. 1 seed, but fell to The College of DuPage in five-games in the championship match. The Lady Wolves, with six all-conference selections, two all-region performers and its first-ever first-team NJCAA All-American, won the conference championship and maintained a 14-match winning streak during the 2000 campaign. The 32 victories are the most by a Joliet Junior College volleyball team since the 1990 team won 31 matches. In addition to her coaching accreditation, she is also a certified public accountant.

Northeast/Southeast Region
Ilida Medero, Miami-Dade Community College
Coach Medero led Miami-Dade to a 33-1 record in 2000 having lost in the NJCAA finals. Medero, with a 424-60 overall record, has earned the last 11 Southern Conference Coach of the Year awards and reached the national tournament in all 11 seasons. Since 1990, Medero has led Miami-Dade to three national titles, five national runner-up finishes and a berth in the finals in each of the last six seasons.

Tina Seals, Northwest-Shoals Community College
Coach Seals led Northwest-Shoals Community College to a 47-9 record and No. 2 spot in the final NJCAA poll. The team finished fourth at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament and won all its home matches for the first time in school history. A repeat selection as Tachikara Region Coach of the Year, Seals was named the Region XII Division II Volleyball Coach of the Year and District H Coach of the Year. She recorded her 300th coaching win this year.

Southwest Region
Kerry Messersmith, Arizona Western College
Ending her fourth season at Arizona Western College, Kerry Messersmith is a back-to-back Tachikara Southwest Region Coach of the Year honoree. The 2000 squad won the NJCAA Region I championship and were ranked No. 11 in the final NJCAA national poll. The Matadors set a school record for wins in a season with a 43-10 record and captured the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference championship with a 17-1 mark. Arizona Western advanced to the NJCAA Tournament and placed eighth.

Donna Prindle, Long Beach City College
Coach Prindle has led Long Beach City College to an 18-0 record in 2000 and a spot in the Hyundai California Women's Volleyball Championship state tournament after defeating Cerritos College. Long Beach is ranked No. 2 in the California Community College poll and will face Butte on Dec. 1 in the state tournament. Long Beach has won the South Coast championship the past six years.

West Region
Sam Atoa, Utah Valley State College
Coach Atoa led No. 5 Utah Valley State College to a 37-8 record and third-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament. UVSC defeated No. 2 ranked Western Nebraska to reach the semifinals. Atoa guided the squad to the Region 18 conference championship with a 13-1 record and won the District I championship. He was tabbed Region 18 NJCAA Coach of the Year and District I Coach of the Year after just missing the playoffs in 1999.

Chris Green, Western Nebraska Community College
Coach Green recorded a 49-1 record at Western Nebraska Community College after posting a 35-10 mark in 1999. The team won all six tournaments it entered, including the South Sub-Region, Heartland Subway Classic, Colby Invite, Garden City Broncbuster Classic and the Region 9 East Tournament. Last year the Cougars won the regional championship.