Dartmouth women's tennis player Sarah Leonard '13 was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rookie of the Year for the Northeast region the first Dartmouth tennis player to receive the award. Mary Beth Winingham '10 was awarded the Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship in the Northeast region, while senior co-captain Jesse Adler '10 earned the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award for the Northeast region, according to a College press release.
Playing primarily at the No. 2 singles slot, Leonard finished the season with a 12-5 overall singles record. Earlier this month, Leonard received second team All-Ivy honors, the first Big Green freshman to do so since Molly Scott '11 earned a second team nod in 2008.
"As a freshman, you don't really think about winning awards," Leonard said. "You just want to take care of business on the court, so it was really exciting to win this award."
Leonard began the season on a torrid pace, winning the first six matches of her collegiate career. After dropping a match to Yale's Vicky Brook at the ECAC Indoor Championships in February, Leonard bounced back to win five of her next six matches, including key victories over Cornell and Columbia. Leonard won 10 of her matches in straight sets and was 2-1 in matches that required a third set. With the addition of Leonard this season, the Big Green had a strong one-two punch at the top of its singles lineup with Scott at first singles and Leonard at second.
"[Leonard] has been such a great asset to our team," Winingham said. "The Ivy League has such amazing recruiting classes, so her winning this award really says a lot."
The Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship for the Northeast region, which Winingham took home, goes to a Division I women's player who displayed dedication and commitment to her team, enhanced its performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis.
"The award meant a lot to me," Winingham said. "Keeping my composure on the court is something that I've worked at over my whole career."
Switching back and forth between second and third singles, Winingham finished the season with a 15-6 overall singles record. In doubles, playing exclusively at the No. 1 spot, Winingham and her partner Scott went 17-5, and the duo was at one time ranked in the top 40 in the nation.
Adler received the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award for the Northeast region, which recognizes college tennis players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
"I was very excited and honored just to be mentioned," Adler said. "Our goal as a team is for every match to be the fairest match and we want the other team to have a favorable opinion of us when they walk off the court."
Serving her second year as a team captain, Adler was 13-7 in singles matches this season, playing mostly at No. 4 singles. What separates Adler from most other college tennis players is not her performance on the court, but rather what she does off the court.
Adler, along with co-captain Julia Zak '10, organized community service projects for the team for nearly every term. Most recently, at an ECAC tournament, Adler and Zak asked other teams to donate supplies to be sent to earthquake victims in Haiti.
"[Adler] shows leadership beyond belief," Winingham said. "She is a natural-born leader and a great captain for the team."
All three Big Green players are now competing against the seven other regional winners around the country for national awards, which will be announced later this week.
