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ITHF will present Sportsmanship Awards July 10

July 9, 2010

NEWPORT, R.I. — The International Tennis Hall of Fame will present the 2009 Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Awards on Saturday, July 10, prior to the annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which takes place during the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The 2009 recipients are Shaun Chaudhuri of Pleasanton, Calif., Neil Karandikar of Belle Meade, N.J., Marc Powers of Stamford, Conn.and Caroline Price of Duluth, Ga.

Presented annually by the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the four recipients are selected from the 17 sectional nominations of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Awards Committee. Each award winner must be a junior player who exemplifies the finest qualities of sportsmanship in tournament play as well as one who maintains the finest traditions of the great sportsmen/women of tennis, past and present. The award is given in honor of 1967 Hall of Famer Bill Talbert, who was highly regarded for his high standards of sportsmanship.

This year’s Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Award recipients were previously announced by the USTA during the 2010 USTA Annual Spring Meeting. Each winner will be presented with their official sportsmanship trophy during the Hall of Fame Weekend Luncheon on Saturday and will participate in many of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend events.

Shaun Chaudhuri is a member of the Northern California section of USTA. At 17 years old, Shaun has been hailed for his character and sportsmanship many times, having received National Tournament Sportsmanship Awards at the West Coast Junior Championships in 2007 and the National Open in 2004. He has also been honored with numerous sectional sportsmanship awards. Off the courts, Shaun is highly active within his school, as a member of the Honor Roll, several honor societies, several community service groups and serving as President of Activities for Going Green Club, which raises awareness of energy conservation amongst teens and adults.

Neil Karandikar is a member USTA Middle States. Neil is eighteen years old and recently graduated from Princeton Day School, where he played No. 1 singles. Neil was a leading member of the 2008 USTA Boys 18s National Championship team. He had regularly been regarded as a role model student athlete. He was the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award at the Boys 14 National Open, as well as at the Boys 18 Level 4 Section Championship. In both 2008 and 2009, he was honored with the Boys 18 Sportsmanship Award for USTA Middle States.

Marc Powers has been consistently regarded as an elite player and a consummate good sport. He was awarded the Boys 14s National Winter Championship Sportsmanship Award in 2004. In 2008, he was awarded the New England Bernard Gorfinkle Boys Junior Career Sportsmanship Award. On the courts, Marc has been ranked within the top 20 in Boys 14s, 16s, and 18s. In addition, he was highly active within his school’s leadership and student government programs.

Caroline Price has been admired for both her sportsmanship and skill for many years within USTA Southern. Caroline was the recipient of the 2008 National Clay Court Championship Sportsmanship Award and the 2008 Molden Family Sportsmanship Award. In addition, she receive the Georgia Junior Female Tennis Player of the Year Award in 2008. She is truly a role model for the game, as is evidenced by her behavior at the 2008 USTA Southern Closed Sectional Championships during which Caroline overruled a call made by the officials that would have given her the match.

For additional information about the Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Award and the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, visit tennisfame.com.