By RYAN WALKER
There was one final accolade to the Bluffton Tigers boys’ tennis season.
Head coach Robert Vanderkolk was selected by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Associated as head coach of the year in District 2.
The award was nominated by head coach Michael Hower of Homestead and Kyle Stoffel of Carroll to recognize Vanderkolk’s season and investment in the middle school tennis program, summer tournament, hosting the sectional and regional, and hosting the first-ever Bluffton Invitational.
Per his usual answer, Vanderkolk gave praise to his program and his assistant coaches about the honor.
“I am humbled by the award, but I will also use it as another opportunity to highlight the success that our tennis program has had these last couple of seasons,” Vanderkolk said. “This recognition would not be possible with the hard work and dedication of my team, and since it is a coaching award, this would obviously not be possible without the continued efforts of my assistant coaches, Hunter Cunningham and Spencer Schwartz.”
Vanderkolk’s team this year completed a 13-4 regular season with its third straight ACAC title and first sectional since 2015. On Sept. 16, his 3-2 victory over Norwell was the 200th win of his 21-year career.
In more recent news, the ACAC honored six members of Bluffton’s seven-man lineup as all-conference honorees, including first-team selections from Nolan Lambert and the doubles duo Coy Lantz and Ben Maggard.
