Melisa Ates Receives WSU President’s Award for Leadership

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State tennis student-athlete Melisa Ates was named a recipient of the 2021 President's Award by WSU President Kirk Schulz at the WSU Leadership and Engagement Awards of Distinction Tuesday, April 20.

The President's Awards honor those who advance leadership and engagement at WSU and beyond. Recipients of the award demonstrate exceptional leadership and service to students, WSU and our community.

Ates, a senior from Antalya, Turkey, is concluding one of the finest careers in program history. A two-year captain, she recently became WSU Tennis' career leader for combined single sand doubles victories with 195. She holds the program record for doubles victories (90) and is currently third on the singles wins list with 105.
 
In the classroom, Ates, who will graduate in May with a degree in computer science, is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic Team selection and received the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award for the Northwest Region. She has been a member of the WSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a WSU President's Honor Roll member and was WSU Athletics' Student-Athlete of the Month in February of 2020.
 
Ates has also been active in the Pullman community, participating in more than 100 hours of community service while a student-athlete. She has volunteered her time at WSU Athletics community events such as Butch's Bash and being a Coug-Pal for local elementary school kids, as well has spending time each month (pre-pandemic) at Pullman's Circles of Caring.