Amherst, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's and women's tennis teams were among the honorees when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 2016-17 NCAA Division II regional and national award winners on Monday, May 8, 2017, at the 2017 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Daemen's teams were named recipients of the ITA Community Service Award for the East Region.
"I am very proud of our student-athletes for the attention they've given to various community service projects this year," said head coach Stephen Beatty. "Giving back to the community is an important part of being a student-athlete here at Daemen. We don't participate in those activities to receive awards, but it is nice for our teams to be recognized for the efforts they've made."
During the 2016-17 academic year, Daemen's tennis student-athletes participated in a variety of community service initiatives. They volunteered at the Jericho Road Community Health Center, cleaning the facility and playing with children who frequent the center, including a large number from Buffalo's refugee population. They played a leading role in the Relay for Life, a fundraiser event sponsored by the Daemen Student-Athlete Advisory Committee which raised nearly $9,000 for the American Cancer Society. Team members also taught tennis skills to people in the community, volunteered at Buffalo Bandits games, and for facility management tasks like equipment setup and take-down at cheerleading competitions.
This is the second community service recognition that Daemen's student-athletes have received in just the last two weeks. On April 25, the final rankings for the 2017 NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service competition were announced with Daemen ranking 11th in all of NCAA Division II in community service hours performed.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.
