Female Amateur Athlete of the Year

Julie Ditty

Julie Ditty enjoyed a truly outstanding 1999 as a member of the Vanderbilt University Tennis Team. She won both the singles and doubles ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Summer National Championships, and received a berth in the U.S. Open Qualifying tournament in both events.

She became the first All-American in Vanderbilt women's tennis history this past spring, and was named the ITA's National Player of the Month of March after going 10-0 with eight ranked wins.

 

Ditty finished the season ranked No. 14 in the nation (the highest final ranking in school history), and peaked at No. 7 (the highest ranking in school history for a single-ranking period).

Some other achievements included posting a 31-13 overall record, 22-7 in dual matches, 11-2 in SEC play, while playing every match at No. I singles. Julie also combined 18-6 in doubles play. Of her 31 wins, 22 were against top 100 players.

Julie became the first Vanderbilt player to ever qualify for the ITA National Indoor Championships in February. After leading the team to a 20-9 record and tying for the second most wins in school history and a final ranking of No. 13, the Commodores swept their NCAA Regional to advance to Gainesville, Florida for the NCAA Championships. Ditty was named All-SEC, and became the third Commodore to ever be named All-SEC twice, the first since 1986.