May 13, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt senior Amanda Taylor continues to rack up awards during her senior season as she was honored with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Southeast Region Senior Player of the Year award and the ITA Southeast Region Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.
“Amanda is a very deserving recipient of both of these awards,” Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “She has had a successful career not only on the tennis court but also in the classroom and in the community.”
Taylor has enjoyed an extremely successful senior season. She currently has a 20-4 dual match record in singles and was named First Team All-SEC after compiling an 8-3 record in conference play. Taylor has been ranked throughout the season in singles, currently enjoying a career best ranking of 17th. She was recently selected to her second NCAA Singles Championship and third NCAA Doubles Championship.
Taylor has been the regional winner of the ITA Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship for two straight years. The award goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements during their career. Taylor has a career singles record of 107-28 and a career doubles record of 83-50. She has earned All-SEC honors every year at Vanderbilt, including being named First Team All-SEC the last three years.
Taylor has also excelled in the classroom and community while at Vanderbilt. She finished her college career with a 3.5 GPA and recently graduated magna cum laude with a degree in human and organizational development. Taylor has also been very involved in the Nashville community. She has been named to the SEC Community Service Team the past two years. Taylor has spent time volunteering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Boys and Girls Club of Nashville. She is also the president of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a representative on the Vanderbilt Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
National winners of each award will be announced on May 20th. For more information on Vanderbilt women’s tennis, log on to vucommodores.com.