San Antonio - Trinity senior All-American Paxton Deuel has received the West Region Intercollegiate Tennis Association/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.

The announcement was made Wednesday in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Deuel will compete in the NCAA Division III Men's Singles Championship. The prestigious award is named after the late tennis great. It is presented to players who have exhibited sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.

Deuel is seeded sixth in the NCAA Singles Championship. He meets Jake Humphreys of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday in the opening round. The second round of singles is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start, and the championship will be held Saturday.

During the dual-match season, Deuel posted a 15-5 record, largely at #1 singles. Last fall, Deuel captured the USTA/ITA Southwest Region Singles Championship for the second occasion, and advanced to the National Small College Championships. Deuel also won the regional crown in 2013, and finished fifth at the national event. Last April, Deuel led the Tigers to a seventh consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, and was elected the SCAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Deuel also attained the accolade in 2014.

Seventh-year Head Coach Russell McMindes led the 12th-ranked Tigers to an 18-10 record. After winning the SCAC Championship, Trinity advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the 23rd time. Trinity's team traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for the regional tournament, where the Tigers received a first-round bye. The Tigers defeated #36 Sewanee: The University of the South (TN) in the second round, and then lost to the host and top-ranked Emory University in the third.