Bradley University Athletics

Wijesinghe to Receive ITA Arthur Ashe Award

Junior Malini Wijesinghe is the 2018 winner of the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award

2018 ITA NCAA Division I Awards

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Women's Tennis 5/23/2018 2:26:00 PM

TEMPE, AZ – Malini Wijesinghe's contributions to the Bradley University community, on and off the tennis courts, is well documented. The junior women's tennis player from Apple Valley, MN now has received national recognition for her efforts as the 2018 recipient of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award, according to an announcement of the ITA's annual awards Wednesday.

The ITA Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award has been presented annually since 1982 to men's and women's players at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and junior college levels who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Recognized earlier this week as the Central Region winner of the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award, Wijesinghe was selected the Women's NCAA Division I winner of the national award from a pool of 11 regional honorees and she will be invited to receive the award during the Ashe Awards ceremony in August prior to the start of the U.S. Open.

Wijesinghe combined for a 27-31 overall record during the 2017-18 season, including a 15-14 doubles record with senior Alexa Brandt. She tied for third on the squad with 13 singles wins, including a 7-6 record in the No. 3 position during the spring dual match season, and she was selected the MVC Singles Player of the Week Feb. 13 after posting an undefeated (4-0) singles and doubles record in a Feb. 10 dual match doubleheader against Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois. Wijesinghe completed her junior year on The Hilltop sixth on the program's all-time singles victories list with a 55-44 record in her three seasons and she is 10th on the all-time combined victories list with 95 career singles (55) and doubles (40) wins.

Voted to the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete First Team in 2017 and 2018, Wijesinghe boasts a 3.98 cumulative grade point average as a triple major in biochemistry, philosophy and Spanish.

During the Bradley Athletics annual Kaboom! Awards last month, Wijesinghe was honored as the 35th recipient of the Carl Grose Service Award in recognition of her lengthy list of volunteer activities. Notable among her activities, Wijesinghe launched the Bradley University Clean Up Crew last fall and the group dedicates an hour each week to cleaning up litter during walks through campus and its surrounding neighborhoods. A member of the Braves Council student-athlete advisory board, Wijesinghe also was elected to the Bradley University Student Senate as Speaker of the Assembly for the 2018-19 school year.

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Players Mentioned

Alexa Brandt: 6' 0"; Senior

Malini Wijesinghe: 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Alexa Brandt
: 6' 0"; Senior

Malini Wijesinghe
: 5' 11"; Junior