University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Earn Share of ITA Community Service Award
May 23, 2017 | Women's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its national awards Tuesday, and the Tennessee women's tennis team tied with East Carolina for the ITA Community Service Award.
UT took home a share of the award after totaling 93.5 hours of involvement and outreach in the community over the course of the year.
The Vols' biggest impact came through their seven Little Smokies Youth Clinics hosted at Goodfriend Tennis Center. Before matches, players would spend time doing drills and offering tips to children who signed up for the event, which was free and offered a Babolat racket if kids attended two of the clinics.
"The future of college tennis is right under our nose; we just have to find a way to reach the kids in our community," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "That is why I wanted to start the Little Smokies program at UT. Through it, we were able to connect our local tennis coaches and racket clubs.
"Tennis can be an expensive sport to learn. I believed if we gave them a racket and found a way to get them on the tennis court with their friends then they would see it is a lot of fun and incredibly rewarding. Babolat helped us to give out more than 130 rackets this spring. That's exciting for our sport!
"The impact Little Smokies had on our team was priceless. While warming up for matches, our team had little kids coming up to them wanting pictures and autographs. They stay and cheer them on and holler for the ones they've gotten to know. It's a pretty awesome experience and feeling. The connections they made with the kids helped them see the bigger picture; our players are role models for younger kids. I look forward to getting our team on the court with them a lot more in the future."
The program collaborated with a variety of local groups, including USTA Tennessee, Knoxville Parks & Rec, and the Sean Karl Foundation.
The Vols also worked with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Love Kitchen and the Boys & Girls Club to help give back to the Knoxville community. In the midst of preparing for the NCAA Tournament, players even volunteered at Tennessee's SportsFest, which promotes inclusion of persons with disabilities in sports.
"This is a credit to Coach Ojeda and our student-athletes, who have certainly placed an emphasis on service and community outreach," Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics John Currie said. "We aspire for all of our coaches, staff and student-athletes to be difference-makers in the community, and our women's tennis program has set a fabulous example of the impact we're all capable of making."
Tennessee qualified for the national honor after being named the Ohio Valley region's winner last week. Brittany Lindl took home the region's Most Improved Senior Award and was in the running for the national recognition.
Melissa Schaub, a former All-American for UT and sister of the Vols' assistant coach Ty Schaub, was named the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Schaub played for Tennessee from 2002-05, notably winning 81 doubles matches during that time. She was a top-four seed in the NCAA doubles championships with Vilmarie Castellvi in 2003 and earned All-America and All-SEC honors that season.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
