GRAND FORKS, N.D. --- The Intercollegiate Tennis Association and United States Tennis Association announced UND assistant men's and women's tennis assistant coach Tanya Gombera as one of 16 recipients of the 2012 USTA Multicultural Grants.

The Grant is $1,000 and will assist these coaches in covering the cost of attendance at the ITA Coaches Convention, held at the Waldorf Astoria in Naples, Fla., Dec. 15-18.

While in Naples, the group of beneficiaries will participate in a series of clinics and events to assist them in their profession, including the Multicultural Coaching Education Symposium presented by USTA Player Development. This training session will provide college coaches with insight into the teaching and coaching philosophy of USTA National Coaches, while also serving as a forum for strategies to increase the number of multicurtural tennis coaches and players.

"The ITA Convention gives me a chance to meet some of the best coaches in the country and I would learn how these coaches develop successful programs, how they recruit, how they run drills and contitioning in practice," Gombera said. "I will also learn on how to overcome some important issues that coaches face. I believe that attending the ITA Convention will be benificial in my career in that it will help me become a better coach and will lead me in the right path of winning a national championship."

Among the honorees are African American, Hispanic American and Asian American coaches of teams competing in NCAA Division I, II and III, as well as NAIA and JUCO. First-year and veteran head coaches. Gombera was the lone assistant coach selected as a recipient.