Women’s Tennis Receives Two ITA Midwest Regional Awards
5/18/2020 4:18:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Junior Mary Lewis awarded the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship award; Women’s tennis team awarded ITA Community Service award.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's tennis was awarded the ITA Midwest Regional Community Service Award and junior Mary Lewis received the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship award, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Monday.
The Community Service Award recognizes a team that gives back to their campus and their community through tennis and non-tennis pathways.
The Spartans were involved in various community outreach initiatives on the Michigan State campus and in the East Lansing community.
In the East Lansing community, the team visited Marble Elementary School one to two times a month to promote physical fitness with students and helped guide tennis clinics with adults with Down syndrome with the Capital Area Down Syndrome Association (CADSA).
The Spartans used their roles as student-athletes to give back to the Michigan State campus community through the Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAC) Food Drive, Toys for Tots and Spartan Buddies programs.
The Arthur Ashe Award, dating back to 1982, is awarded to individuals who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
Lewis, a junior from Bellflower, California, had an immediate impact on the Spartans after transferring from Arizona.
In the fall, Lewis boasted a near perfect record of 10-1 in singles. A highlight of Lewis' fall campaign was an upset victory over the No. 2-seed in main draw singles of the ITA Midwest Regionals last month.
After being one of the last remaining eight players in the qualifying singles bracket, Lewis qualified for the main draw and was the last Spartan standing in the tournament as she completed a thrilling three-set upset of the No. 2-seed in the bracket and No. 26 nationally ranked Chaira Lommer of Michigan.
During the shortened spring season, Lewis competed at the No. 1 position in singles with a record of 6-5 and was a steady part of the doubles lineup.
The national winners of the awards will be announced on Monday, May 25 in a virtual awards ceremony that can be viewed on the ITA's Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.
The Community Service Award recognizes a team that gives back to their campus and their community through tennis and non-tennis pathways.
The Spartans were involved in various community outreach initiatives on the Michigan State campus and in the East Lansing community.
In the East Lansing community, the team visited Marble Elementary School one to two times a month to promote physical fitness with students and helped guide tennis clinics with adults with Down syndrome with the Capital Area Down Syndrome Association (CADSA).
The Spartans used their roles as student-athletes to give back to the Michigan State campus community through the Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAC) Food Drive, Toys for Tots and Spartan Buddies programs.
The Arthur Ashe Award, dating back to 1982, is awarded to individuals who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
Lewis, a junior from Bellflower, California, had an immediate impact on the Spartans after transferring from Arizona.
In the fall, Lewis boasted a near perfect record of 10-1 in singles. A highlight of Lewis' fall campaign was an upset victory over the No. 2-seed in main draw singles of the ITA Midwest Regionals last month.
After being one of the last remaining eight players in the qualifying singles bracket, Lewis qualified for the main draw and was the last Spartan standing in the tournament as she completed a thrilling three-set upset of the No. 2-seed in the bracket and No. 26 nationally ranked Chaira Lommer of Michigan.
During the shortened spring season, Lewis competed at the No. 1 position in singles with a record of 6-5 and was a steady part of the doubles lineup.
The national winners of the awards will be announced on Monday, May 25 in a virtual awards ceremony that can be viewed on the ITA's Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.
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