March 16, 2011

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State women's tennis team has been honored as March'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 a team that has exemplified outstanding sportsmanship, character and ethical conduct in the true spirit of competition and collegiate 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). This monthly award began in 2003. 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. USU was recognized this month for the character and sportsmanship through-out the month of February.

"Whether it was being fair on line calls or battling until the very end, his team showed nothing but character and sportsmanship", said the Head Coach of a fellow Western Athletic Conference opponent. "This has always been a staple of programs run by Coach Wright, but I was particularly impressed with this year's performance."

"We are honored to receive this award for the month of March", said head coach Christian Wright. "I am very proud of our young ladies and our coaching staff and the manner in which they conduct themselves and represent the athletic department and Utah State University. We believe we have a duty to conduct ourselves with class in respect to our fans, officials and our opponents."

The Aggies will return to the courts on March 24, as they take on San Francisco, followed by a bout against WAC opponent, San Jose State, March 25.

Fans can follow Utah State athletics, including women's tennis, at http://twitter.com/USUAthletics.com

-USU-