Santa Barbara City College tennis player Maddie Mitchell has been named the national winner of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship Award by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

The award is given annually to collegiate student-athletes who have shown great achievements on and off the court, taking into account a player’s tennis accomplishments, scholastic achievements and extracurricular endeavors. A select group of accomplished student-athletes have been honored in this way since 1982.

Mitchell played for the SBCC Vaqueros in 2018 and 2019, helping them to a 31-9 record. She also made the President's Honor Roll two years in a row and maintained a high GPA while playing tennis. 

“What a tremendous accomplishment to have Maddie recognized on the national level, beating out what I am sure were many very qualified candidates,” said SBCC Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino. “This is a tremendous accomplishment on so many levels and in my opinion, the fact that Mr. Ashe established this award himself makes it even more meaningful.”

In April, Mitchell was selected as a regional winner of the Ashe Award during the banquet in Ojai, CA, for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Tournament.

According to SBCC women's tennis coach Christina Klein “Maddie is respectful and holds a standard of work ethic that every student should follow. She is an example to her teammates on how you can excel both in the classroom and on the court. She has been a leader for our team this past year and is able to see the bigger picture, acting as the glue to the team to keep everyone together.”