Tartan Men Honored with ITA Regional Community Service Award

(TEMPE, Ariz.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's tennis team was honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) with the ITA Atlantic-South Community Service Award for its work in the community throughout the 2018-19 season.

The Tartans have done multiple projects around the Pittsburgh community including planting trees in the Squirrel Hill area and park cleanup with Allegheny Cleanways. The team also used its free time during the season to host tennis clinics for the Carnegie Mellon community.

 In November, the team planted six trees in Squirrel Hill as a symbolic message to the community of a new beginning following the tragic shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue that rocked both the neighborhood and CMU community.

"It was really nice being able to give back to our Pittsburgh community and especially the Squirrel Hill neighborhood after the tragic events," said senior captain Daniel Levine. "Planting trees was a great way to spend some time outside as a group and it will be neat to see the trees we planted grow over the years as we come back to Pittsburgh to visit."

Senior captain Chaz Downing added, "It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to contribute to the Pittsburgh community. Receiving the gratitude of people walking by as they saw us planting trees and putting smiles on their faces made the whole experience even more memorable."

After the team's spring break trip to Florida, the men spent a Saturday on the north side of the city cleaning up trash around an old park and surrounding neighborhood.

On campus, the Tartans were greatly involved with growing the tennis community and offered a series of campus clinics. Three clinics took place in the fall with one in the spring and were heavily attended by students, faculty and staff. The team has plans to continue the offering next year.