ROSEMONT, Ill. - Distance runner Matthew McClintock and women's tennis player Krisztina Kapitany were named Purdue's recipients of the 2015 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, the conference office announced Wednesday. Twenty-eight student-athletes from around the conference were selected for the honor from a group that exceeded 350 candidates.
The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The individuals must be fair and respectful to their opponent and, in addition, be enthusiastic about the game, enjoy playing it and, win or lose, do their absolute best at all times. The recipients also shall be active on their campus communities. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
McClintock earned All-America honors after finishing 19th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. It was his second such honor in as many years, making him the first two-time cross country All-American in program history.
During the indoor track & field season, the junior hailing from Athens, Maine, finished third at the Big Ten Championships in the 5,000-meter run, earning him his first conference medal. Outdoors, he won the 5,000-meter Big Ten championship, the first Boilermaker in program history to do so, and first since 1961 to win an event of similar distance. McClintock also finished runner-up in the 10,000-meter race, giving him Purdue's best finish in the event since 2001.
McClintock qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships by winning the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds May 29 in Jacksonville, Florida. He will compete June 10 at 9:43 p.m. ET in Eugene, Oregon.
Kapitany won a career-best 25 singles matches, including 17 during the spring campaign. From late-January to the end of March, she went on a career- and team-best 10-match winning streak. Her winning ways were not limited to singles competition. Paired with sophomore Nicole Robinson, the duo stormed out by winning a dozen-consecutive matches to start the spring season at No. 3 in the lineup. Their 12-match winning streak was also a team best. Combined with their fall mark of 6-1, Kapitany and Robinson completed 2014-15 with a record of 18-3.
The junior from Budapest, Hungary, was recently named the Ohio Valley region's recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Collegiate Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship award, which is given to student-athletes that have obtained scholastic and extracurricular achievements, and demonstrated sportsmanship, leadership and character. She has also twice been Purdue's recipient of the Big Ten Women's Tennis Sportsmanship Award.