George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Tennis Adds Rafael Aita to Coaching Staff
6/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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June 25, 2015
WASHINGTON - The George Washington men's tennis team has added former UNC-Wilmington standout Rafael Aita as an assistant coach for the 2015-16 season, head coach Greg Munoz announced.
A 2014 UNCW graduate, Aita joins the Colonials after serving as an instructor at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina, while remaining at UNCW to work with Centro Hispano, where he helped develop a marketing plan to increase the University's outreach to Hispanic students.
"Working with Coach Munoz and GW men's tennis is going to be a one-of-a-kind experience," said Aita. "I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to join a top-level Division I program at GW. The coaching staff has done a truly splendid job in the past years, and I am excited to learn from them and ultimately help the student-athletes have a great GW experience both on and off the courts."
As a student-athlete, Aita led the Seahawks to three Colonial Athletic Association conference titles from 2011-14 while playing at the No. 1 singles spot during those seasons. The Pimentel, Peru, native was named CAA Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014 and earned All-Conference First Team honors for singles a trio of times while garnering that same honor twice for doubles play. The CAA's 2014 Most Outstanding Performer, Aita served as team captain in 2013 and 2014 and graduated as UNCW's most decorated men's tennis player in program history.
On the national stage, Aita played in two NCAA Singles Tournaments and four NCAA Team Tournaments throughout his tenure as a Seahawk. Alongside UNCW partner Sam Williams, Aita won the ITA Carolina Regional Championship in 2013, and the duo was ranked as high as No. 14 in the ITA national doubles rankings, while Aita was ranked as high as No. 17 in solo play. Internationally, Aita represented Peru in the 2014 Davis Cup during his senior year.
"I have been fortunate to have had two very strong assistant coaches in Rodrigo Briceno and Philippe Oudshoorn who were each able to help GW win two Atlantic 10 titles," said Head Coach Munoz. "Rafa brings a passion for the game and strong playing skills that will push the guys on the court and has the experience of competing at the No. 1 spot for a perennial NCAA qualifier in UNCW."
"We had an amazing group of candidates," added Munoz. "Rafa has already shown great dedication to our program before he has even arrived. He is very excited to get here in August to start working on greater success than we already have had."
