April 19, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Junior Bulldog tennis player Hank Grant will represent Samford University in the 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference May 27-31 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. A group of 330 student-athletes from colleges and universities across the nation have been chosen to participate in the conference.

Grant, a native of Kennesaw, Ga., attended North Cobb High School where was a scholar athlete and an Eagle Scout. In his three years at Samford, Grant has been a huge contributor in both singles and doubles. As a freshman, he competed in 19 singles matches and 18 doubles matches while going 13-6 in singles play and posting an undefeated record against Ohio Valley Conference competitiors. He and doubles partner Stuart Misner also went undefeated in the conference at the No. 2 court and lost only two matches to non-conference opponents.

As a sophomore, Grant and Misner recorded another undefeated season at the No. 2 position, winning 12 straight conference matches, and posted a 17-2 overall record. He also played at the No. 2 singles position again and posted an 8-4, 6-4 OVC record.

In the 2007 season, Grant has been a very versatile athlete, playing at three different positions throughout the season. He started out at the No. 5 position, posting a 7-1 overall record and going undefeated against conference opponents. After moving to the No. 4 spot, Grant won four out of six matches, three of those wins coming over OVC players. In the final matches of the season, Grant was moved up to the No. 3 court. However, he faced tough non-conference opponents and came out winless.

Grant was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week on March 28. Voted on by the conference office, the Player of the Week award goes to the conference player who has turned in an outstanding performance in the previous week. Grant was also recently selected to the second team All-OVC list, an honor that is voted on by the conference coaches.

"Hank is one of the most talented players in the OVC," Samford head coach Kemper Baker said. "His work ethic and ability to drive his teammates is second to none. I am very proud of Hank's accomplishments here at Samford. He has excelled academically and athletically and has become a leader in our program. I cannot think of a better representative to the NCAA leadership conference than Hank."

The NCAA National Leadership Conference provides NCAA student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills. The leadership conference also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities. The five-day leadership conference consists of daily exercises and activities to help the student-athletes develop as individuals and as contributing members to a group.

The conference is an outreach of the successful CHAMPS/Life Skills Program and involves close to 325 student-athletes each year who compete in fall, winter and spring sports in Divisions I, II and III. Many of the student-athletes who participate are members of their conference and campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAACs).