Bio

With 20 Athletes of the Month recognized at the banquet, it was not easy to pick a Male and Female Athlete of the Year. However, this year's winners were sophomore men's tennis player Takeshi Taco and volleyball athlete Iva Halacheva.

Having reached tremendous heights as a member of the Cowley College men's tennis team, Takeshi Taco came to Cowley from Lima, Peru.

After capturing national championships at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles as a freshman, this individual has continued to be one of the most feared tennis players in all of the NJCAA as evidenced by his No. 1 singles ranking.

Takeshi was named NJCAA First Team Singles All-American, NJCAA First Team Doubles All-American, ITA Singles and Doubles All- American, ITA All Star Team and NJCAA Freshman of the Year.

After advancing to the singles finals at the ITA Cup in Rome, GA, during the fall season, he has helped the Tigers to a No. 1 ranking and a record of 10-2 in the spring season. Individually, he is 9-1 in singles play and 9-3 in doubles.

He helped the Tigers finish as the national runner-up a season ago and has his team in the hunt for its first national championship since 1991.

Takeshi was previously named Cowley College's August Athlete of the Month and along with tennis, he is a resident assistant in the Cowley dorms.

"It is hard to put this feeling into words," Taco said. "Nonetheless, it is a huge honor for me to receive the award of Male Athlete of the Year. I am deeply honored by everyone involved at Cowley College that made this possible. I would like to recognize every athlete at Cowley because I truly believe that everyone deserves an award like this. I consider all of them winners. I have been working hard to improve on and off the tennis court to be able to bring to Cowley all the recognition possible. I would like to thank my coach Manny Raga for everything that he has done for me. He is not only a great coach but a great human being. I also would like to thank my teammates for being there for me and give everything they have every time we go out there to battle. Finally, thank you to my family for supporting me from Peru, my country, and my girlfriend Valentina. This award gives me an extra motivation to bring the national championship to Cowley. I promise I will keep working hard."