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Princeton University Athletics
Salibasic Joins Men's Tennis Staff
June 30, 2015 | Men's Tennis
“We are very proud to have Alen join our staff and become part of the Tiger family," Princeton head coach Billy Pate said. "His undergraduate achievements speak for themselves and he will be a wonderful mentor to our young men. Not only is Alen a gifted player, he has the type of high character values and career ambition that have contributed to his success off the court. To win the NCAA Elite 89 award two years in a row is remarkable.”
During Salibasic's career at Drake University in Iowa, the native of Bosnia and Herzegovina helped the Bulldogs to the NCAA team tournament all four years while reaching the second round as a sophomore and a senior. He won a first-round match at the NCAA singles championship as a junior, and in each of his last two years, he won the NCAA's Elite 89 Award, given to the player with the top GPA at each NCAA championship event.
“I am incredibly excited to join the Princeton family this fall," Salibasic said. "The university's history of academic and athletic excellence is unmatched by any other school and I feel honored and blessed to become part of such a highly reputable institution. I am looking forward to working with Billy and (assistant coach) Ryan (Keckley) this year and helping their team experience yet another successful season.”
The Elite 89 honors are just two of many academic awards for Salibasic, who was a Capital One Academic All-America honoree in 2014 and 2015 and was a multi-time winner of the Missouri Valley Conference's Academic Excellence Award and a place on the MVC Academic Honor Roll.
Salibasic won 111 singles matches and 84 doubles contests at Drake, including 20 at the No. 1 spot as a senior. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2015 and ended his final season ranked 39th in the nation in singles by the ITA.