FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

 Davis Selected New England Recipient of USTA/ITA Award

Northampton, MA:  Smith College tennis coach, Christine Davis, has been named the  New England winner of the United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (USTA/ITA) Campus Recreation Award.  This award honors an ITA coach who has done an outstanding job implementing recreational tennis programs on campus in an effort to increase tennis participation.
       Davis, in her 26^th year of coaching tennis at Smith, has implemented many programs for the Smith and Northampton communities including evening faculty/staff tennis; afternoon tennis on the outdoor courts open to the entire Smith campus and Northampton community; a weekly instructional “teaching lab” for faculty, staff and students, and a five-week session of ball machine workouts.  Special clinics and instruction are offered by the tennis team. An 8-week tennis program runs in the summer which includes clinics, individual instruction and play that is free to college community with a small fee charged to Northampton residents. This past August a “Legends Event” was sponsored by the Red Cross as a fundraiser.  Four women players were brought to campus for exhibition play and clinic and the Smith community worked in all aspects of operation including serving as lines people, court attendants, etc.
     Davis hopes to meet the range and variety of tennis interests of the Smith and Northampton communities and is committed to providing instruction, practice and competitive opportunities.