ROME, GA – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is happy to announce the selections of Advik Mareedu (CMS) and Ashley Simes (Lee) as the 2024 ITA Cup James O’Hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award winners.
Awarded each year at the conclusion of the ITA Cup, the James O’Hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award recognizes two student-athletes who exemplify the spirit of college tennis and show great sportsmanship throughout the tournament. To be eligible for this award, student-athletes must have reached the finals of the singles main draw.
As the men’s recipient, Advik Mareedu demonstrated great class and respect for all of his opponents throughout his matches at the 2024 ITA Cup. Now in his junior season, Mareedu is a two-time champion of the ITA Cup Division III Men’s Singles Title, just one of three players to win the title twice in the tournament’s history.
As one of the nation’s highest-ranked singles players since the moment he arrived on campus, Mareedu has continuously made an impact on the court for the Stags while developing into a leader off of it as well. Mareedu has been named the SCIAC Athlete of the Year each of the past two seasons all the while keeping up a high standard in the classroom earning the distinction as an ITA Scholar-Athlete this past season.
“I am truly honored to receive the James O’Hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award,” proclaimed Mareedu. “I want to thank my coaches, family, friends, and teammates for their support in helping me achieve this recognition. They have taught me the true meaning of sportsmanship and have helped me develop the character traits I strive to demonstrate on the court.”
This season, Mareedu and the Stags will look to build on the success from the 2023-24 season in which they finished as the National Finalists with an impressive 29-4 record. Welcoming in just three freshmen this fall, CMS will once again be primed for a deep run in the NCAA tournament come the spring and will rely on Mareedu to be the driving force from the top of the lineup.
“Knowing Advik as I do, this honor will mean as much to him as winning the ITA Cup title,” stated CMS Men’s Tennis Head Coach, Paul Settles. “He’s an understated, classy champion who is respectful and considerate of his opponents. I am so impressed with how he represents CMS, Harvey Mudd College, and himself each and every time he steps on the court.”
The women’s ITA Cup James O’Hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award winner has been awarded to Ashley Simes. As a late addition to the tournament as an alternate, Simes made no mistake with the opportunity she had earned, taking down every opponent across her four matches to win the first ITA Cup Singles Title in program history.
Beginning with the first two rounds of play, Simes played with her back against the wall for most of each match after dropping the first set to her opponents. Not letting that dampen her confidence, Simes was able to fight back in both matches to continue in the main draw before winning both the semifinals and finals in straight sets against two players who finished the 2023-24 season ranked in the Top 60 of the ITA Division II Women’s Singles Rankings.
“To me, this award means so much more than winning,” noted Simes. “It reflects the values that I have been brought up with and the values that we focus on in our program at Lee. It shows how important it is to be respectful and show integrity on the court no matter the result.”
This championship continues the upward trajectory that not only Simes has shown during her collegiate career but the entire Lee program as a whole has shown over these past few years. The Flames have had a winning record each of the past two seasons and look to be another strong contender amongst a loaded Gulf South Conference and South Region.
“A big piece of our program is doing things the right way,” said Lee Women’s Tennis Head Coach, Patric Hynes. “Ash has always been a player who competes hard while treating opponents and officials respectfully. I’m proud of how Ash represents our program!”
The James O’Hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award is given in memory of Jim Sargent, former Media Manager for Rolex Watch, USA, who was not only a great friend of college tennis, but an ITA All-American who competed with outstanding success and sportsmanship at Lynchburg College and afterward, a special partner to the ITA and all of college tennis in his role with Rolex.
