ATLANTA, Ga. -- Wayne State University senior men's tennis student-athlete Nicholas Ang (Rochester, Mich.) was named one of 26 national semifinalists for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup.  After the nomination list was paired down to 30, only four were selected as finalists. The 2019 Collegiate Wooden Cup recipient will be announced at the award ceremony this spring.  Former track hurdler Karrington Seals was a semifinalist in 2018, while baseball student-athlete Christian Bilkovic was a semifinalist in both 2014 and 2015.  Former women's basketball guard Kristen Long was a 2016 semifinalist.  Former WSU women's tennis student-athlete Tanya Joseph was a semifinalist in 2013 and former women's ice hockey player Ashley King was a finalist during the 2007-08 academic year.

The 15th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes, has announced collegiate honorees for its 2019 award ceremony to be held in Atlanta at a date this spring to be announced. Bob Ryan, the famed sportswriter for the Boston Globe and analyst for ESPN, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.
Founded by Athletes for a Better World (ABW), a non-profit organization committed to changing the culture of American sports, the Wooden Cup is unique in that it is open to athletes in all high school, collegiate, Olympic, and professional sports. Annual nominations are open to every division and conference in college sports, and to athletes in public and private high schools across the country in partnership with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
 
John Wooden, who won ten national championships during the years 1964-1975 as basketball coach at UCLA, is commonly regarded as the greatest college coach of any sport who ever lived. Universally regarded as one of the finest human beings to ever grace the world of sports, his character, conduct and selfless gifts stand at the highest level by any standard. When Coach Wooden learned about Athletes for a Better World, he gave authorization to attach his name to this annual award, and he attended and addressed the inaugural event in Los Angeles in 2005. In his honor, the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is presented to four distinguished athletes, one collegiate, one professional or Olympic, and a male and female from the high school ranks, for their character and leadership both on and off the field.
 
The 2019 collegiate Wooden Cup recipient will be announced at the awards ceremony. Finalists for the collegiate division include:
Abigail Abel, Purdue University
Nathan Clayberg, Drake University
Elisabeth Estep, Alfred University
Malani Lee, University of South Florida
 
The Semifinalists were:
Nicholas Ang, Wayne State University
Daniel Boshart, Peru State College
Lidia Breen, Lehigh University
Kenneth Brinson, U. S. Military Academy, West Point
Kelly Campbell, DePaul University
Joshua Casher, University of Alabama
Cierra Couch, Kentucky State University
Erin Egan, Daemon College
Julia Hays, University of Delaware
Ben Harris, King University
Caleb Kelly, University of Oklahoma
Patrick Laird, University of California, Berkeley
Terrence Mann, Florida State University
Emily Miller, Roberts Wesleyan College
Nate Renfro, University of San Francisco
Travis Russell, Ferris State University
Caitlin Sorensen, Menlo College
Amanda Thompson, Mercer University
Jake Thompson, Western Wyoming Community College
Sam Toney, New Jersey City University
Drew Tranquill, University of Notre Dame
Tracy Van, University of California, Riverside
Brittany Ward, University of Missouri
Marcus Weymiller, University of Northern Iowa
Grant Williams, University of Tennessee
Jessica Wollmann, Radford University
 
About Athletes for a Better World:
Founded in 1998, Athletes for a Better World (ABW) exists to change the culture of sport by developing individual character, teamwork, and civic responsibility through commitment to the Code for Living. ABW's vision is to have the Code become a part of every sport at every level, so that it becomes the common language and standard expectation of behavior for everyone. ABW provides resources to coaches and athletes across the country who want to teach and live out these values. "The Code for Living" can be found on playing fields, locker rooms and athletic facilities across the country. Currently, ABW players and coaches are represented in every state and several foreign countries. More at www.abw.org.