Home Boys' Lists Girls' Lists Men's Teams Women's Teams News Photos Contributors Links Help Sign-UpOnline Store
Latest News | Categories | Authors | News Archives
 
 

News & Features

College Feature
Wingate Sets the Expectation for Sexual Assault Awareness
Share:    

Daniel Belsito and his Wingate teammates took the words to heart and became inspired to act.

Although they aware of sexual assault on a superficial level, hearing Brenda Tracy speak made it resonate much deeper.

Wingate Players Signed the Set the Expectation Pledge

Tracy came to Wingate last October to address student-athletes about her Set the Expectation platform to raise awareness and educate others about sexual and physical violence.

Tracy was gang raped in 1998 by four men, including two members of the Oregon State football team. After going public with her story, Tracy became an advocate and began visiting colleges across the country.

Tracy wanted the shame she initially felt to morph into hope, healing and redemption. She wanted to save others from enduring the trauma she experienced.

Belsito and his teammates were so moved by Tracy’s appearance they decided to do more than just sign the Set the Expectation pledge. They organized a daylong event to educate high school kids in the Wingate, North Carolina area and spread Tracy’s message.

Wingate’s inaugural Set the Expectation event will take place on March 2 when the men’s and women’s teams host Columbus State. The players have invited high school kids to take a campus tour, participate in a free tennis clinic and hear from a representative from Safe Alliance, a local organization that helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

They are asking people to donate items that will be given to Turning Point, which serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. The Wingate players will wear special “Set the Expectation” T-shirts during their matches.

“We wanted to use our match as a platform to invite kids and educate them on how important this issue is,” Belsito said. “We want to make this a schoolwide thing, and hope other schools in our conference follow. That is a big goal obviously, but what better way to start than us. Somebody has to do it.”

Tracy noticed how engaged the members of the men’s tennis team were during her visit to Wingate. There is always a lot of publicity when football programs embrace her message, so she was heartened to see it spread to a sport like tennis.

“They really listened to everything I said. I threw a lot of ideas out there at them and talked about a lot of different things, and they picked up on all of them,” Tracy said. “They could have just put patches on for a match, but they took the extra step of reaching back to influence high schools kids coming into college and holding a daylong event. That is incredible.”

Once Wingate began discussing the idea of hosting an event, graduate assistant coach Joel Roberts decided to make it part of his Sport Management masters program project. The Wingate administration was on board and fully supported the team’s mission.

Roberts sent letters to 10 high schools in the area inviting them to attend, and began contacting the local organizations to help educate attendees about sexual assault and domestic violence. He arranged the details for the free clinic and the lunch Wingate will be providing.

“We are really looking forward to it and looking forward to getting as many people to attend as possible,” Roberts said. “It’s the first time ever, and the goal is to do this annually and really try to grow it into a really big successful event each year to help educate high school students while helping promote Brenda’s platform as well.”

Daniel Belsito and Brenda Tracy

Belsito, a junior from Charlotte, North Carolina never really considered becoming an advocate for preventing sexual violence until hearing Tracy share her story. Tracy encouraged men to take a leading role by speaking out for women and becoming role models in their community.

“That is something that really stuck with me. One of the things I have always wanted to do since I’ve been a college athlete is to do more than just be an athlete,” said Belsito, the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. “There are other things you can do around campus to try and make athletes be seen in a better light. Giving women who don’t feel spoken for our support and showing them we stand with them is one way. Not just now, but for years to come.”

Roberts sent a letter to Tracy inviting her to attend Saturday’s event, but she had a speaking engagement already booked. Tracy plans to try and come next year, and encouraged the players to keep spreading the message to as many people as possible.

“For some young men, these are scary topics and a scary space to get involved because sometimes we talk to our young men like they are the problem. But these men can be the solution,” Tracy said. “It takes a little bit of a leap of faith for them. It can’t be comfortable for them, and they are doing it. That is what’s important. I am very, very proud of them.”

 
 

About Diadem

College Content at TennisRecruiting.net is sponsored by Diadem.

Diadem was founded in 2015 with a single goal in mind - develop the most innovative, high-quality tennis products in the world to help players maximize their performance. We found that the tennis industry had become stagnant, with very few brands that were challenging the status quo. With a team made up of former collegiate and professional players and coaches, Diadem set out to develop new and exciting products that catered to players of all levels looking to elevate their game.

Diadem is committed to supporting the growth of junior tennis in America and across the globe. Our Dynasty Team sponsorship program is unlike any junior tennis sponsorship program in the world. Beyond providing high quality equipment at a great price point for junior players we are continuously innovating to improve our players experience with the sport and to help them accomplish their goals. We give our athletes the "pro player treatment," to equip them with racket setups that are tailored to their game. We leverage our relationship with hundreds of college coaches across the country to help our players take their game to the next level. We're continuously evolving to better support our sponsored players from coast to coast!

Connect with Diadem on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and - or on their website.

 

Leave a Comment

 

More College Coverage

4-Oct-2023
Meet The Coach: Disher Takes Next Step at Emory
Bridget Disher has moved from being player at Emory University to an assistant coach and now the head coach. The former All-American discussed what it means to take over the program, what she looks for in recruits and her goals for the future.

27-Sep-2023
Wagner Eager to Lead Clemson Men's Program
After successful assistant coaching stints, Brandon Wagner will be leading a Division I program for the first time. The former Georgia standout was recently named the head coach for the Clemson men's program. He discussed the move and his hope for the future.

11-Aug-2023
Brown Returns Home to Lead Vanderbilt Men
Scott Brown is returning to his alma mater to lead the Vanderbilt men's program. The former Virginia assistant recently spoke with Tennis Recruiting Network about his decision to take over the Commodores and his vision for the future.

 
 College Coverage Index |   Subscribe

 

About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].
 
 DIADEM
 
Savino High Performance on Diadem Nova Racquets
 
This Diadem racquet is really outstanding.
 
RECENT COMMITMENTS
12/09 Cyrus Ahmad chooses Cleveland State
12/09 Rintaro Goda chooses Hillsdale
12/09 Tina She chooses Amherst
12/09 Anna Piland chooses Caltech
12/09 Sofia Anderson chooses Towson
12/09 Adriana Tonn chooses Kaskaskia
12/09 Salakthip Ounmuang chooses Oklahoma
12/09 Gian Octa chooses Missouri
12/09 Noah Pe chooses Stevens
12/09 Adam Koon chooses Southern Indiana

Full Listings: Boys' Commits & Girls' Commits

 
 
RECENT HEADLINES
ITA NEWS
THE LATEST FROM ZOOTENNIS
12/09 Eddie Herr ITF Recap; Drama Dominates at Orange Bowl with No. 1 Seeds Falling; All-American 16s Finals Set for Saturday; 16s Doubles Champions Crowned
12/08 Eddie Herr 12s, 14s, 16s Recap; Roh Ousts No. 2 Seed Prado Angelo to Reach Orange Bowl J500 Quarterfinals; US Girl Guaranteed to Reach Final; 16s…
12/07 Reigning Orange Bowl 16s Champion Nguyen Continues Her Winning Streak, Beating J500 No. 3 Seed Kovackova; Top Seed in B18s Doubles Upset; 16s…
12/06 ITF J500 Orange Bowl Unkind to Eddie Herr ITF Finalists; Eddie Herr 16s Champion Secord Drops No. 8 Seed; Both 16s Top Seeds Fall in Second Round
12/05 Top Girls Seeds Open with Victories at Orange Bowl ITF J500 in Plantation, Top Boys Seeds Debut Tuesday; Team USA WIns Fourth Straight Master’U BNP…
Colette Lewis has covered topflight junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Read her weekly column, follow her on Twitter, and and find more of her daily commentary at ZooTennis.
 
TALK TENNIS
 

Page updated on Monday, November 06, 2023
Contact our web team with any corrections