Georgia junior Jamie Hunt has been named the Southeast Region recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Monday.

Hunt is one of the eight region winners who are in the running for the national award, which will be announced at the NCAA Championships Awards Banquet in College Station, Texas on May 19. The ITA/Arthur Ashe Award goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.

Hunt is a key member of the fourth-ranked Bulldogs (24-3) who are currently in College Station preparing for their NCAA Round of 16 match against 13th-ranked Illinois on Thursday. A native of San Antonio, Hunt has earned ITA All-America honors in doubles this season with teammate Nate Schnugg. Hunt is 28-11 in singles and 28-11 in doubles with Schnugg. He is ranked 75th in singles and fifth in doubles with Schnugg. Hunt has been named a first team All-Southeastern Conference selection this season. He has been a part of back-to-back NCAA national championship teams.

Off the court, Hunt has been active with the Team United Bible study group, Athletes in Action and the UGA Academic Roundtable. He is majoring in sport management.

“Jamie is one of the most popular players in the nation, a gentlemen on and off the court,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “He is the epitome of a sportsman. He’s fair and gives it his all each time out on the court. He’s very deserving of this award.”

“The way you act and how you treat people, especially an opponent in the middle of an intense match, says a lot about the kind of person you are and the type of morals and values you have,” said Hunt. “I try to see my opponent as someone who can push me to play even better, and I embrace my opponent playing well as a challenge for me to rise up and compete at a higher level. I have played in front of some huge crowds in my collegiate career, especially at Georgia, and I know that there is some little kid out there watching me play for the first time, and that he is looking up to me and how I act and compete on the tennis court.”

The rest of the Ashe Award regional winners were Chris Clayton (Harvard, Northeast), Jared Miller (Toledo, Midwest), Blake Strode (Arkansas, Central), Christoph Muller (Rice, South Central), Graeme Kassautzki (New Mexico, Mountain), Omar Altmann (Pepperdine, West). The Mideast Region winner has yet to be announced.

- Georgia Sports Communications