MAAC Announces Nominees for 2010-2011 NCAA Sportsmanship Awards
MAAC Sports
Edison, N.J. - Siena College's Jannis Opalka and Katie Carew have been nominated for the 2010-2011 NCAA Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Awards, the MAAC announced today.
These award honor student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The awards are administered by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct (CSEC), which was established in 1997. The CSEC selects six divisional honorees, one male and one female (individual or group) from each division. From those six, it selects one male and one female national winner, the highest NCAA student-athlete sportsmanship honor.
Opalka, who just completed his sophomore year at Siena, was named captain of the men's soccer team last season for his exemplary leadership by example both on and off the field. Opalka, who hails from Stade, Germany, took one of his fellow teammates under his wing he had to return to their home country of Germany before the completion of the spring semester to tend to his brother, who had to have emergency brain surgery. While out of the country, Opalka called and made sure to pass along all of his teammate's school assignments while also helping him out with his academics. Opalka met on his own accord with his teammate's professors and athletic department administrators to make sure his teammate had everything he needed both to complete the semester academically and receive the assistance he needed. Back in Germany, Opalka went out of his way traveling across the country to deliver his teammate all of his paperwork and belongings. When Opalka was set to return from an injury earlier last season, he was extremely supportive of his replacement that he would soon be supplanting in the lineup, giving him words of encouragement and pushing him to play his best. A team-first player, Opalka serves as a translator for several of the international players and is an advocate for foreigners both on his team and on other teams at Siena, taking these players under his wing and helping them to acclimate with her new surroundings.
Carew, a junior on the Siena women's swimming and diving team, has gone out of her way to display numerous acts of good sportsmanship and leadership on a daily basis. Not only has she balanced academics and athletics in an exemplary way, but she has also become a leader of all Siena's student-athletes as both the school's and MAAC's Student Athlete Advisory Committee President. Carew has unified all of Siena's student-athletes and worked diligently to create an environment for the teams to work together, most notably the first-ever Siena Student Athlete Talent Show. Carew organized the entire event, which was represented by all of Siena's athletic teams, and raised $1,000 for the Special Olympics. Someone who always goes above and beyond the call of duty, Carew meets weekly with Siena's Athletic Director to discuss the needs of the student-athletes and has forged a mutual respect with both him and the department administration.