Tennis Teams Earn OVC Sportsmanship Awards

Murray State's men's and women's tennis teams received the 2006-07 Ohio Valley Conference Team Sportsmanship Awards, the league office announced today from its Brentwood, Tenn., headquarters.

Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. OVC Sportsmanship Awards are given to one team in each of the sports sponsored by the conference.

Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans. The 2006-07 school year marks the second year the team sportsmanship awards have been awarded.

“Sportsmanship is a core value of the Ohio Valley Conference,” said OVC Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, “and the team awards are a primary means of celebrating those student-athletes and coaches who perform with distinction. Anytime you are recognized by your peers, it is truly an honor. I congratulate Murray State's men's and women's tennis programs for their pursuit of excellence.”

The Murray State women's team captured its sixth OVC Tennis Championship with a 4-1 victory over Samford in the tournament final, and made the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Racers' Anna Lask was named OVC Player of the Year.

“I know one of the biggest points the OVC stresses with all its teams is sportsmanship and it is equally important to Murray State,” said MSU women's tennis coach Connie Keasling. “For the other players and coaches in the OVC to select us to receive this award is quite an honor. It takes very special players to win a conference title and earn three all-conference awards but this sportsmanship award says a lot about the championship character of these student-athletes on and off the court.”

Murray State's men's team finished sixth overall in the OVC this season and lost in the first round of the OVC Tournament. The Racers' Fadi Zamjaoui was named OVC Player of the Year.

“It's an honor to receive the OVC Sportsmanship Award,” said MSU men's tennis head coach Mel Purcell. “We had four seniors that played hard all year and did an excellent job of representing the university on and off the court. I just want to thank the other OVC coaches and players for recognizing our team with this award.”

“Winning the sportsmanship awards is a credit to Coach Purcell, Coach Keasling and the student-athletes on each team,” added MSU Director of Athletics Allen Ward. “I'm proud of the way they represent themselves and this university.”

The men's and women's tennis teams are the third and fourth MSU squads to earn OVC Sportsmanship awards, in its first two years of existence. The baseball and women's golf teams won the awards during the 2005-06 year.

Implemented in August 2005, the team honors are the most recent addition to an awards program that recognizes and celebrates sportsmanship within the Conference. In 1998, the league established the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to a male or female student-athlete of junior or senior status who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator. Five years later, the conference added the OVC Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the member institution selected by its peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.

In 1995, the Ohio Valley Conference implemented a first-of-its-kind “Sportsmanship Statement,” a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics, and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.

Murray State University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos