Houston's Flood Honored with 2003 National ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Houston junior Sarah Flood was named a 2003 national recipient of the Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) this week at the University of Florida's Reitz Union.

Despite sustaining life-threatening injuries in a car accident in 2001 and missing the entire 2002 season, Flood returned to the sport and her teammates in 2003, appearing in 10 singles and 18 doubles matches for the Cougars.

This award is presented to an individual who displays inspiring commitment and dedication to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. This year's Leary Award winners are perhaps the most inspiring and courageous since the award began in 1997.

Flood shares the award with Indiana's Karie Schlukebir, who has battled cancer throughout her IU career.

The national sportsmanship award is named for Cissie Leary, who coached tennis at the University of Pennsylvania for 20 years until her death in 1997. Leary battled scleroderma and died tragically at age 42.

This year's national award winners are:

ITA Senior Player of the Year - Vilmarie Castellvi, Tennessee
ITA Rookie of the Year - Amber Liu, Stanford
ITA National Player to Watch - Christelle Grier, Northwestern
ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year - Frankie Brennan, Stanford
ITA/Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award - Karie Schlukebir, Indiana and Sarah Flood, Houston
ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship - Kristen Stubbs, Virginia Tech