Assistant Coach Ellis, Weekes win ITA tennis honors – Binghamton University Athletics

VESTAL, N.Y. – The ITA released its regional award winners Wednesday and the NEC champion Binghamton men’s tennis team was well represented. The Bearcats, coached by Nick Zieziula warranted three awards. Assistant coach Charlie Ellis was named ITA New England Region Assistant Coach of the Year, junior Kyle Weekes was the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship winner and the Bearcats were selected for the Community Service Awared.

Binghamton closed out a stellar 2023-24 with the NEC title in Binghamton’s very first year in the conference. The Bearcats then earned the program’s 10th NCAA tournament berth before their season ended with a loss to No. 26 Michigan. Binghamton finished the spring ranked No. 10 in the New England Region, which boasts four nationally-ranked Ivy League members at the top. 

Ellis, who came to Binghamton in 2017, is a veteran coach who has been instrumental in the team’s progress. The former University of Georgia standout and SEC Player of the Year has more than three decades of coaching experience.   

“I’m grateful for amazing work that Coach Ellis has done for our program for the last six years,” Zieziula said. “Charlie has made me a better coach and helped our players and our coaches grow to become better people. Our championship this past season was an accumulation of work, effort and dedication put in over multiple years and Charlie has been such an engine of positivity and optimism especially in  the hardest times.”

The honor for Weekes caps an impactful year that saw the team co-captain lead the Bearcats to the NEC title as championship MVP, all while successfully navigating his challenging Pharmacy School curriculum. Weekes is the first student-athlete to juggle both roles and add to that his work to overcome injury, and his participation in the team’s vast community service, and anyone could see his merit.  

  

“It has been great to see Kyle grow and mature over his years with the program and after this past season’s work and efforts especially, this honor is a great reflection of that growth,” Zieziula said. “On and off court, Kyle seeks to go above and beyond with his energy and enthusiasm, and is willing to spend extra time talking with the youth in our service events or engaging with alumni and fans. His journey through injuries and extremely difficult academics in a doctoral program have been challenging but he has kept a positive attitude and looked for the opportunities of growth through all of it.”

Zieziula’s team earned yet another honor with the community service award. The sharp focus on volunteerism and community partnerships have been staples in his program over the last decade and the ITA award is the third such honor in recognition of the team’s dedicated and diligent work.    

“One of our program’s core values is Gratitude; our service work seeks to reinforce our ‘attitude of gratitude’ for all of the parents, coaches and friends who have gotten us to the opportunities that we have been a part of at Binghamton University and a Division I athletics program,” Zieziula said. “We are where we are because of others who have helped us and in connecting with youth in our area and in NYC, we are able to pay it forward in a small way. We are looking forward to continuing to grow our partnerships with Kings County Tennis League, Cary Leeds Tennis Center and Tennis Charities of Binghamton in the coming year.”

Earlier in the spring, the team won the NEC Sportsmanship Award and also earned the Athletics Division’s Community Service Award. The men’s tennis team carried a lofty 3.75 GPA during the 2023-24 year.