PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Amira Badawi has been named the 2023 ITA Northeast Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award Recipient. Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) made the announcement Monday morning.
The ITA Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship goes to a Division I women’s player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team’s performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. The honor dates back to 1997 and is in memory of the late and widely admired Penn women’s tennis coach Cissie Leary.
Badawi is the second Scarlet Knight to earn the regional honor as Maya Jacobs was also selected for the award in 2021. Jacobs was named the winner of the national award as well.
After transferring from NJIT during this past offseason, Badawi made an immediate impact for the Scarlet Knights with a 9-4 singles record in addition to a 4-4 doubles mark.
Along with five nonconference wins, the Cairo, Egypt product also picked up regular season wins over Big Ten foes Indiana, Wisconsin and Northwestern at the No. 3 lineup spot. She earned a big win over Michigan State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament to help RU to its first conference tournament victory in program history.
In doubles, Badawi played the latter half of the spring with partner Tara Chilton, recording a 3-3 record together. The duo defeated the 28th-ranked pair from Ohio State in a dominating 6-1 decision. The victory marked the pairs’ first victory on the first court and first over a nationally ranked duo.
In addition to the praise from the ITA, Badawi was also selected as Rutgers’ Co-MVP, along with Chilton.
During her first season “On The Banks” after transferring from Washington, Chilton went 10-10 in singles competition and 8-8 in doubles play. She started off the season with an 8-2 mark in nonconference singles before picking up solid wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament on the second court. In addition to recording three victories with Badawi, Chilton also claimed a 5-5 mark in doubles play with partner Mai Nguyen. All five wins came in nonconference matches.
Jackeline Lopez was honored with the team Grit Award, compiling a 9-12 singles record in the spring as well as a 9-10 doubles mark. She started off the slate with four…
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