INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA has named the recipients of its 2005 Sportsmanship Awards, which recognize student-athletes who have demonstrated the ideals of sportsmanship through their athletic pursuits.

The honorees are Phil Barr, a swimmer from Division III Bates College, Lewiston, Maine and Lauren Clary, a tennis standout at Division I Xavier University, Cincinnati. The student-athletes will be honored during presentations on their respective campuses.

Each athletics conference and independent institution may nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the NCAA Sportsmanship Awards. The nominees must have consistently demonstrated sportsmanship and ethical behavior in their daily participation in intercollegiate athletics. The student-athletes also must have exemplified good citizenship outside of the sports arena while remaining in good academic standing.

Barr and Clary were selected by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct from a group of 120 nominees representing all three divisions.

“It is clear that our student-athletes are trying to make a difference. This year's conference winners displayed exceptional commitment to their communities, as well as their teammates, and made our decisions particularly difficult,” said Woody Gibson, chair of the committee and director of athletics at High Point University. “Lauren and Phil represent their peers across the country very well.”

Barr, a survivor of the 2003 fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, made an incredible comeback to the Bates swimming program during his senior season. After being placed in a drug-induced coma for three weeks, Barr was released with about 45 percent lung capacity.

After more than a year of rehabilitation, Barr defied the odds and returned to the pool last winter for his senior season. Diagnosed with pneumonia two days before the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships, Barr swam the butterfly leg of the preliminary medley relay, and cheered the team on after it qualified for the finals.

In a sport known for its individual performances and accomplishments, Barr epitomized team spirit. His leadership was instrumental in developing positive team policies, promoting responsible social behavior, inspiring serious practice attitude and advocating dedication to offseason conditioning.

Clary recently finished her career as the winningest female tennis player in Xavier history, recording a 115-25 singles mark and a 103-27 doubles record while competing at No. 1 singles her entire four-year career. She earned the Atlantic 10’s Sporting Award for 2004-05 and is just the second person in conference history to garner Student-Athlete of the Year honors in an individual sport three times. Clary also was an all-Conference selection each year while at Xavier.

Clary’s reach extended well beyond the tennis court. She was an active volunteer in the Xavier community as well as in her hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. She was a four-year participant in the Take Back the Night rally to raise awareness for domestic violence and was a regular volunteer at the Rape Crisis and Abuse Center of Hamilton County.

Clary was never intimidated by the magnitude of her community service projects; something Xavier Athletics Director Dawn Rogers says is a testament to the student-athlete’s character.

“Lauren chose service opportunities where she could get involved and touch people outside of Xavier,” Rogers said. “She took community service a step further than what most kids experience on college campuses. Those are big issues and obviously are things that are important to her. She was involved in so many meaningful projects.”

An eight-time member of the Dean’s List, Clary graduated magna cum laude in May 2005. She will attend the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Saint Louis University in the fall.