TEMPE, Ariz.—Babson College's Michael Kopelman was selected as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Men's Tennis Coach of the Year on Wednesday afternoon. 

The national honor is the first for Kopelman, who was tabbed as the ITA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year back on May 14. 

Kopelman guided the Beavers to a 19-5 record during the 2025-26 campaign, which included capturing the program's second consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season and tournament championships and a second straight NCAA Tournament berth. Babson defeated No. 23 Skidmore to advance to the regional final for the second year in a row before falling to No. 7 Bowdoin. 

Babson's 19 wins were the second most in single-season program history behind only the 2024-25 squad, which finished 22-3 and reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The Beavers recorded six wins over top-30 opponents, including an upset of then-No. 2 Chicago, the eventual national champions, back on March 20. 

Babson ascended to a program-best eighth in the ITA rankings on March 25 and have been ranked among the top 15 in every poll going back to January. 

Along with the team success, Kopelman helped both senior Alexander Merson (Palisades Park, N.J.) and sophomore Edward Wang (Burr Ridge, Ill.) qualify for the NCAA singles championship. The selections came on the heels of a historic fall that saw Wang pair with sophomore Sebastian Mendoza (Weston, Fla.) to capture the program's first ITA New England doubles title to earn a spot the ITA Cup, while Merson became the Beavers' first ITA New England singles semifinalist. 

Merson will be named as the program's first ITA All-American in singles since 2020 next month, while Wang and Mendoza will be recognized as the Beavers' first doubles pairing to earn All-America accolades in school history. In addition to the national honors, Kopelman and assistants Kartik Erodula and Andrew Imrie were selected as the NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year, and eight of his players received all-conference recognition, which includes Merson being selected as the player of the Year.