Competitive to a fault is a description Adam Denney, nursing senior, said he uses to define his willpower to succeed.

“It helps me in a lot of things I do like nursing and my tennis career,” Denney said.

Denney’s determination paid off this year when he was named one of Daktronics-NAIA Male Tennis Scholar Athletes of 2010.

The honor was given to 80 male tennis players across the country.

Recipients were required to have a GPA of at least a 3.5 and had to be nominated by their head coach.

Denney was the only male tennis player at IU Southeast that received the honor.

“It was definitely an honor,” Denney said. “I think if you make good grades, then you have great experiences, and I was happy to receive it.”

Yancey Walters, men’s tennis head coach, said Denney is a great example for the team.

He said he was glad to see Denney awarded for his academic and athletic excellence.

“He is a good leader by example with his grades,” Walters said.

He said academics are an important part of being on the team.

“A lot of college teams have players who cannot play because they flunk out, but here almost all of our guys have kept up their grades so they can play,” Walters said.

He said he sometimes has to provide direction for some of the guys on his team, but not Denney.

“[Denney] learned to do it by himself, and the others follow,” Walters said.

Fellow teammate Evan Biesterveld, criminal justice sophomore, said Denney is an excellent student leader.

He said Denney showed his leadership ability when Biesterveld had played poorly during a game.

“I got down on myself at a match, and Denney told me to get myself together and play through it,” Biesterveld said.

Biesterveld said when he heard Denney had been named one of Daktronics-NAIA Male Tennis Scholar Athletes, he was happy for him.

“It is a big honor, and I think he deserves it,” Biesterveld said. “The award just shows everyone how hard-working he is.”

Denney grew up in Bedford, Ind., about an hour and a half drive from IU Southeast. He attended school at Bedford-North Lawrence, where he chose to focus on tennis.

“I played basketball, baseball and tennis,” Denney said. “Tennis was the sport I was best at, so I stuck with it.”

Denney said the individuality of the game was a big draw for him.  “It is a very psychological sport that tests your patience and resolve,” Denney said.

He continued playing the game throughout high school.

After high school, he chose IU Southeast to continue his education.

“I like the small campus, and I get to play tennis,” Denney said. “I also chose IU Southeast because it has a very good nursing program.”

This semester, he starts his fourth year in the nursing program.

“I want to become a nurse practitioner, someone who prescribes drugs and can diagnose patients,” he said.

By MORIAH WHITTAKER

Staff

whittakm@umail.iu.edu