ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award
Luca Mack from Valdosta State University has been named the 2023 ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award winner.
On the court, Mack has been one of the top players in all of Division II tennis during his time with the Blazers.
In 2023 Mack finished the year with a 16-1 singles record at No. 1 singles and was the No. 2 ranked player in the ITA Singles National Rankings. Mack won the Fall 2022 South Regional Singles Finals and advanced to the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia where he suffered his only loss of the fall in the finals. Mack was named First Team all Gulf South Conference and earned the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year award.
Off the court, during his 2021-2022 campaign, Mack garnered the Student-Athletic Academic Spotlight award for demonstrating outstanding leadership in academics. This award was chosen by Valdosta State’s Faculty Athletic Committee and exemplifies how Luca adds value to his academic environment. In the same year, Mack earned Gulf South Conference All-Academic Team as well.
Mack’s 2022-2023 campaign has arguably been his most impressive. During Valdosta State’s end of the year banquet, Mack earned a plethora of awards. He again earned the Student-Athletic Academic Spotlight award as well as the Character Award for men’s sports. To complete his triple crown, Mack was named the Overall Male Student Athlete of the Year.
In addition to VSU’s recognition, he won the Gulf-South Conference Champion Scholar-Athlete award for men’s tennis. Mack is the first male player from VSU to win this award. Mack has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA for the year. He is pursuing a double major in International Business and Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship
Mack has also been an active member in the Valdosta community through several avenues. Through tennis, he has taken pride in teaching young children how to play tennis. This has connected him with the community by building relationships and creating bonds that will last longer than his time in Valdosta.
He has volunteered at several different primary schools where he reads to children. Mack enjoys trying to find ways to give back to the youth because he has a passion for investing in the children of tomorrow.
A Letter From Head Coach John Hansen
To find the words in congratulating Luca Mack for the Arthur Ashe Leadership Award is easy. He epitomizes the very meaning and principles of what Arthur Ashe stood.
The character of this year’s Blazer tennis team was built around Luca as he is one of those people who leads just by being there. Not only is he a great player, but his leadership is a tremendous inspiration to the entire team, especially to his young teammates in all aspects of their collegiate careers.
It is not often to coach a player who is a two-time All-America selection in both singles and doubles, who is the conference player of the year, conference academic player of the year, an Academic All-American and who is the Athlete of the Year for all sports at Valdosta State University. On top of all of that, he is a great guy to know.
Luca is deserving of this award and will be a great representative for the ITA, NCAA and Valdosta State University.