Women's Tennis Receives ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award
5/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
SKILLMAN, N.J. - The DePaul women's and Pepperdine men's tennis teams have been honored as this month's recipients of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Sportsmanship Award, the ITA announced today.
The ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award is a monthly award that goes to teams that have exemplified outstanding sportsmanship, character and ethical conduct in the true spirit of competition and college tennis. The winners are selected by the ITA Ethics and Infractions Committee from nominations received from all ITA member institutions (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges).
DePaul is coached by Mark Ardizzone.
"I am so proud of the way our team carries themselves on the court," Ardizzone said. "It isn't really a surprise, though; because that's the way they carry themselves everyday in the classroom, the workout center, and in various campus jobs. It is truly an honor to coach this group of young ladies."
In addition to the obvious reasons, sportsmanship and fair play are considered important in college tennis due to the fact that players make their own line calls during a match.
Previous winners of this award in 2004 were: Washington and Lee (men), San Diego State (women), Oregon (men), Georgia Tech (women) and William and Mary (men).
As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
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