May 16, 2006 
Contact: Cory Blackson, Sports Information Director

USA South Announces Spring Sportsmanship Awards

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - During the 2004-2005 academic year the USA South Athletic Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee instituted a Conference-wide Sportsmanship Award.  Today the USA South is pleased to announce the Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2006 spring sports season.  Methodist College has been chosen for baseball and golf, while Christopher Newport University is the winner for lacrosse and Averett University for softball.  For tennis, Averett has been named for the men and Peace College for the women. 

There will be a Sportsmanship Award for 12 of the 14 Conference-sponsored sports.  For every sport, each team member votes for the teams he/she deems to have demonstrated the best overall sportsmanship throughout the season.  The team garnering the most votes will receive that sports' Sportsmanship Award.  The institution that wins the most individual sport Awards will win the overall USA South Sportsmanship Trophy.  The Award was developed as a result of the SAAC's commitment to maintaining a sportsmanlike environment on each of our campuses. 

A voter for the Methodist baseball team stated, "the team demonstrated a good attitude when interacting with teammates, coaches, officials and fans.

One ballot stated that "Methodist's golf team was courteous before and after tournaments and the whole team played within the rules of the game."

One voter for the Christopher Newport lacrosse team said, "no matter what happened in the game, they stayed positive.  The coach is caring and considerate to his team and the opposing team."

One voter for the Averett softball squad said, "they play aggressive, but play fair."

A ballot for the Averett men's tennis team stated, "the team played very fair and didn't use any inappropriate language.

A voter for the Peace women's tennis team stated, "the whole team had great attitudes and never gave up in their matches."

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hopes that by awarding a Sportsmanship Award, the members of the USA South will understand the importance of this issue.  It is vital that good sportsmanship be demonstrated in the arena of competition. 

Spring Sportsmanship Award Winners
Baseball - Methodist College
Softball - Averett University
Golf - Methodist College
Lacrosse - Christopher Newport University
Men's Tennis - Averett University
Women's Tennis - Peace College