April 23, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — In a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the Southeastern Conference once again highlighted a Community Service Team for men’s tennis with senior Eric Quigley being Kentucky’s 2012 recipient, the league office recently announced.
The SEC sponsors a Community Service Team for all 20 sports that it sponsors. The men’s tennis Community Service Team represents 12 SEC student-athletes, one from each competing institution. The honor looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.
The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., has been a model example for the UK program on and off the court during his time at UK. Off the court, Quigley has helped with several QuickStart tennis clinics, while also working with God’s Pantry in Lexington. Last Christmas, Quigley helped coordinate a therapeutic recreation Christmas party for special needs children. Quigley has also performed well in the classroom, majoring in Community Communications and Leadership Development.
Quigley was also given the highest honor a UK student-athlete can be given at the 2011 CATSPY Awards when he was named Mr. Wildcat. The Mr. and Miss Wildcat Awards are given for all-around excellence in athletics, academics, character and service.
So far this season, the senior co-captain is 47-6 in singles action, which breaks the school record for most singles wins in a season. The senior has had a fantastic dual-match season, sitting 24-1 overall and 11-0 against SEC foes. Earlier this year, Quigley became the school’s all-time winningest singles player when he earned win No. 145. He currently has a 165-45 career record.
During the fall, Quigley earned a berth into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships where he won the singles consolation title. The win would punch the senior’s ticket to the United States Tennis Association/ITA National Indoor Championships, where he would defeat three ranked players before falling to a top-three ranked player in the semifinals. Quigley also advanced to the finals of the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships and the Southern Intercollegiate. Most recently, Quigley advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Coaches’ Indoor Championships. The UK star is 4-0 this year in dual matches.
Quigley had his best year on the court in 2011 when he became Kentucky’s fifth three-time All-American, joining five-time All-American Jesse Witten (singles 2002-05, doubles 2005), four-time All-American Greg Van Emburgh (singles and doubles 1987-88) and three-time All-Americans Rich Benson (doubles 1987-89) and Cedric Kauffmann (singles 1996-98). Quigley also tied the school record for singles wins in a season with a 45-20 record in 2011, while also becoming only the sixth player in school history to play in the finals of a collegiate tennis grand slam when he advanced through a very challenging field to the finals of the D’Novo ITA All-American Championships.
Other accomplishments include being named an All-SEC first-team performer in 2010 and 2011, while he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2009. One of Quigley’s greatest honors came when he was chosen by the UTSA to represent the United States of America in the Master’U BNP Paribas in France. Earlier this year, Quigley was honored again by the USTA as he was named the 2011 USTA/ITA Sportsmanship Award Winner.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter or “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
SEC Men’s Tennis Community Service Team:
Ricky Doverspike, Alabama
Alex Stamchev, Auburn
Taj Harrison, Arkansas
Bob Van Overbeek, Florida
Will Reynolds, Georgia
Eric Quigley, Kentucky
Stefan Szacinski, LSU
Marcel Thiemann, Ole Miss
Henry Walker, South Carolina
