Martelli, Summitt named coaches of the year

ATLANTA, March 29 (UPI) -- St. Joseph's Phil Martelli and Tennessee's Pat Summitt on Monday were named the 2004 Naismith College Basketball Coaches of the Year.

Martelli completed his ninth season at St. Joseph's by leading the Hawks to their best record in school history at 30-2. They became the first team since Nevada Las-Vegas in 1991 to finish the regular season unbeaten.

Under Martelli, the Hawks earned a No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history. But they came up one game short of the Final Four after suffering a 64-62 loss to Oklahoma State in the East Rutherford Region on Saturday.

Summitt, women's basketball's all-time leader with 850 career victories, captured the Naismith honor for the fourth time in her illustrious career. She also won the award in 1987, 1989 and 1998.

In her 30th year at Tennessee, Summitt has guided the Lady Volunteers to six national titles. She has her team within one win of reaching the Final Four for the third straight season. Tennessee (29-3) next faces Stanford on Tuesday.