Stiefelmeyer Earns Two ITA Ohio Valley Regional Awards
May 13, 2015 | Men's Tennis
The University of Louisville's Sebastian Stiefelmeyer continues to collect accolades during his senior season, most recently earning the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award and the Most Improved Player (Senior) of the Year for the Ohio Valley Region.
"The Cardinal Tennis family is so proud of Sebastian and very grateful that the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Committee honored him," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "Sebastian has always had a listening ear to all of his coaches and was willing to try to implement all of our ideas. We all enjoyed working with him."
ITA Most Improved Player (Senior) of the Year
Stiefelmeyer (Vienna, Austria) earned the Ohio Valley Region's Most Improved Senior Award after an outstanding 2014-15 season. He has been one of Louisville's top players throughout his career earning all-conference honors in three different leagues, but saved the best for his final season as a Cardinal. He set a school-record with 40 singles victories and went 22-2 in dual matches as team's No. 1 player.
After entering the fall season at No. 110 in the ITA singles rankings, Stiefelmeyer proceeded to capture the ITA All-American Championship by winning nine straight matches with six upset victories. He earned the No. 1 seed in the ITA Indoor Championship and reached the quarterfinals of that tournament. In the spring, he went on to become the nation's top-ranked player - twice and remained in the top eight throughout the 2015 spring season. He is making his first NCAA singles championship appearance as the overall No. 5 seed.
ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award
The ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recognizes outstanding individuals in all divisions at the regional and national level. This award which dates back to 1982, goes to players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
In addition to his achievements and leadership on the court, the two-time team captain has been a member of Louisville's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the past two years. As a junior, he served on the executive board as a conference representative and attended the ACC SAAC In-Person meeting in Greensboro, N.C. In the 2014-15 school year, he was the SAAC Vice President.
Stiefelmeyer has also garnered several academic honors throughout his career. The economics major - who received his bachelor's degree in May, 2015 - earned the 2015 ACC Scholar-Athlete Award. He is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and was the American Athletic Conference Sport Excellence Award winner in 2014.
"The Arthur Ashe Award is a prestigious one in which only one other player in UofL history has been honored- our current assistant coach Jakob Gustafsson," said Ecarma. "Sebastian has developed into a vocal leader and is one who also lead by example. He is a player who respects the rules of the game and understands he is not only representing himself, but his team and university."
Players Mentioned
