Conference USA Sportsmanship Awards Announced
July 09, 2007 | Men's Swimming and Diving
July 9, 2007
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky today announced the five student-athletes and one group who were selected as recipients of the 2007 C-USA Sportsmanship Awards. The conference sportsmanship awards are presented to student-athletes, coaches or teams that perform an individual act of sporting behavior or generally conduct themselves with a high degree of good sportsmanship.
The individuals recognized for the 2006-07 season include Rusty Clayton of the University of Memphis, Ryne Tacker of Rice University, Dominic Cervi of the University of Tulsa and East Carolina's Brie Berkowitz and Geoff Handsfield. The University of Central Florida Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was also honored for their sportsmanship.
Two ECU student-athletes received the C-USA Sportsmanship Award. Berkowitz just concluded her Pirate career on the women's track and field squad. Besides being an outstanding contributor for her team, the York, Pa., native also volunteered her time with the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina, The Gulu Walk and Wintergreen Primary School. Handsfield will be a senior member of the ECU men's swimming team this upcoming season and has already served two seasons as a team captain, as voted on by his teammates. The Morehead City, N.C., native, also participated in these community outreach activities, while also doing work with the ALS Walk to raise money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. ALS claimed the life for former East Carolina head baseball coach Keith LeClair in July 2006.
Clayton was a four-year letterwinner as a deep snapper for the Tiger football team. He started and played in 49 games during his career and did not have a single errant snap in 160 PAT, 100 field goals and 189 punts. Though he never received as much publicity as some of his other teammates, that never kept him from always being a consistent contributor and role model for his teammates. In 2006, he became the first deep snapper to be named to the All-Conference USA first team. A native of Sumrall, Miss., Clayton received his first bachelor's degree - in psychology - in three and a half years with an impressive 3.61 GPA. He also holds a bachelor's degree in history and is currently working toward a master's degree in criminal justice.
Tacker was a key member of this year's Owl baseball squad that made their second straight appearance in the NCAA College World Series. The right-hander made a courageous comeback after injuring his pitching elbow prior to the 2006 season, to earn C-USA Pitcher of the Year honors this spring. He also earned a spot on the 2007 Collegiate Baseball All-America third team as well as ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America second team honors. The Benbrook, Texas, native earned his degree in kinesiology/managerial studies with a 3.6 GPA, while also taking time to do his part for the game's next generation of players. Tacker served as the official scorekeeper for the West University Little League last season.
Cervi has played three seasons and logged more than 3,000 minutes in goal for the Hurricane during his career. During a key match with Conference USA foe Memphis in 2006, Cervi collided with Tiger forward/midfielder Tripp Harkins and Harkins suffered a concussion on the play. Cervi took initiative to follow up on his own to check his condition. A native of Norman, Okla., Cervi is celebrating his birthday on the day of this announcement.
The UCF Student-Athlete Advisory Committee was a group recipient of the 2007 C-USA Sportsmanship Award. After becoming aware that the Stetson University rowing team, located in nearby DeLand, Fla, lost all of their boats during a tornado storm in February, the SAAC organized a fundraiser. Over the course of a week, UCF student-athletes solicited funds at six home contests and raised $750 to send to Stetson. In a letter from the Stetson SAAC President Jeff Smoraglinolo he wrote, "The notion that the UCF SAAC found time out of their hectic scholastic and academic schedules to help fellow sportsmen in a time of need is both heart-warming and inspiring. Your true colors have shined brightly. Not only are you great competitors, but great people as well. Your sportsmanship and altruism will not soon be forgotten."
