MCC Tennis Star Wins National Award

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College tennis program has a long standing tradition of success on the court. The program has also had several players receive national recognition and one more player was added to that list on Saturday.

Mallory Davis of the MCC women's tennis team has been named winner of the 2014 Women's ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.

Davis has been described by many among the tennis community as kind, compassionate, loyal, hard-working, cooperative, enthusiastic and exhibits high moral values.

Davis is Meridian Community College's co-captain and has helped her community in many different areas. Davis contributed to a canned food drive with the entire athletic department for Love's Kitchen, a local soup kitchen for the homeless. She has volunteered as a bell ringer with the Salvation Army at Christmas, Street Strut for Breast Cancer, Samaritan's Purse, Special Olympics and Laurie's Kids, a local charity for special needs children. She's also done a Cystic Fibrosis run and is very involved in her home church in the puppet ministry there.

Davis has carried a full load each semester at MCC and maintained a 3.87 GPA, which helped her earn the Maude Smith English Award and Female Athlete of the Year.

On the court, she earned All-Region XXIII at number two doubles last year and was half of the eighth ranked doubles team in the country. She started the 2013-14 season as the No. 33 singles player and No. 29 doubles team in the ITA JUCO Preseason Rankings. Davis was also listed in a "Who's Who" Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.