Trapani Named this Year's Recipient of Charlotte West Scholarship
08/05/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
Aug. 5, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -As a Southern Illinois University women's tennis student-athlete, Tana Trapani achieves success both on the court and in the classroom, knows how to deal with adversity and leads by example in a way that challenges those around her to strive to do their best. That's why she's the fourth recipient of the Charlotte West Endowed Scholarship.
A native of nearby Murphysboro, Trapani is best described as a coach's dream.
"Tana is a conscientious young woman who repeatedly demonstrates strong self-discipline and has a tremendous work ethic," praised former SIU women's tennis coach Judy Auld. "She always displays a great strength of character, morals and ethics."
Athletically, Trapani began her Saluki career with a 28-4 singles record, including a flawless 12-0 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Then, as a sophomore, she suffered a dislocated hip which could have been a career-ending injury for most college athletes. Instead, her drive and determination enabled her to not only continue playing competitively, but excel in the process.
Hindered by the injury, Trapani faced the uncertainty of not knowing whether she could continue to compete at such a high level. That uncertainty forced her to place the interests of the team ahead of her own, and as a result, she elected to give up her scholarship for her sophomore and junior years.
Once Trapani returned from the injury, she compiled a 25-3 singles mark which adds to a career record of 60-8. Not to mention, she won both the flight four singles title and the flight two doubles crown at last year's MVC Individual Championships.
While her athletic credentials speak for themselves, her accomplishments in the classroom shine even more.
Boasting a 4.0 GPA in business, Trapani is a third-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, a MVC Scholar-Athlete and a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete. She has also served as the team representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Board for three years.
This fall, Trapani will work as an intern for the accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche in St. Louis, Mo. In the spring of 2005, she may play one more season before graduating from SIU, as she has one more year of eligibility remaining.
The Charlotte West Scholarship, which was first established in 1997, is awarded to a junior or senior female student-athlete who has lettered two years and carries at least a 3.25 GPA. The recipient must also have demonstrated an interest or a commitment to ensuring equitable benefits or enhancing opportunities for female athletes, and must display qualities of dedication, integrity, responsibility and leadership.
The award was named in honor of West, who served as the Salukis' head women's basketball coach from 1959-75 and SIU's Director of Women's Athletics from 1975-87. Once the men's and women's athletics departments merged in 1987, she became Associate Athletics Director and remained in that position until her retirement in 1998.
Past Charlotte West Scholarship Winners
2001-02 Chiara Calvetti, Softball (1998-01)
2002-03 Alison Hiller, Women's Golf (1998-02)
2003-04 Katie Berwanger, Women's Basketball (1999-03)