Anthony DiCarlo, a wrestling student-athlete at Anderson (South Carolina), and Aleksandra Mackiewicz, a fencer at Brown, were named as the 2009 NCAA Sportsmanship Award winners.

DiCarlo and Mackiewicz were chosen from seven finalists – four male and three female winners representing Divisions I, II and III.

The other division winners were Aaron Ammons (Southern Mississippi), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) in Division I; Jamie Maloney (Clarion) in Division II; and the Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team and Isaac Rothenbaum (Carthage) in Division III.

The NCAA Sportsmanship Award honors student-athletes who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics. Recipients are chosen by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. This is the 10th year for the honor.

‘There are things bigger than sport’

By his own admission, DiCarlo enjoyed “wrestling up” on occasion. Not surprisingly then, at the behest of head coach Dock Kelly, the 141-pounder didn’t hesitate to fill in for an injured teammate in the 157-pound weight class at a dual meet against Central Missouri last season.

The meet was tightly contested and every individual match was critical to the overall team score. In fact, Anderson’s chances of claiming the victory rode on the senior’s performance. Although his opponent built a substantial early lead, a focused and determined DiCarlo made a serious comeback.

With about a minute left in the third period of the back-and-forth match and with DiCarlo needing just one more takedown to score a seemingly impossible win, the Central Missouri wrestler suffered an eye injury, which left him vulnerable to attack. However, despite the opportunity to claim the victory, DiCarlo refused to execute any offensive moves. The remaining seconds on the clock expired and Central Missouri won, 20-15.

DiCarlo said he was never tempted to take advantage of the situation to grab the win.

“I’m an advocate of solid wrestling,” he said. “I wouldn’t consider it poor sportsmanship to wrestle hard no matter what. If a guy steps on the mat, he’s there to wrestle, so it’s almost an insult if you chose not to wrestle hard. But, in certain situations, when it’s just common courtesy, if he’s motioning to call injury time, it doesn’t make any sense to blast him.”

Anderson coach Dock Kelly said he wasn’t surprised by DiCarlo’s actions.

“Anthony is a competitor to the core,” said Kelly, who likened his opportunity to coach DiCarlo to a chance to see Halley’s Comet – a once in a lifetime event.  “If he can’t succeed the right way, then he doesn’t want the success. I’m grateful for the sport of wrestling because it gave the world an opportunity to see a young man like Anthony DiCarlo.”

For his part, DiCarlo came away from the match feeling good about his efforts – mainly because he’d started badly but ended strong. The math education major, who is scheduled to graduate in December, hopes his actions communicated a broader message.

“There are things bigger than sport, and one of them is respect for the person,” said DiCarlo. “That transcends not just sport, but winning and losing. I try to conduct myself with that mindset not just in sports, but period.”

No regrets

Before Mackiewicz began her sophomore campaign as a member of the Brown fencing squad, she spoke with her coach about her chances of earning a berth in NCAA regional competition. Mackiewicz was one of four members of the team who specialized in the saber, but by rule only three were permitted to advance to regionals.

In past years, seniority had factored into the decision, but she said the coach indicated the stronger fencer would earn the slot.

Mackiewicz, who rotated between third and fourth starter with senior teammate Charlotte Rose, produced solid results throughout the year, and by the end of the regular season, all four women’s saber competitors had qualified for NCAA regional competition.

It was Mackiewicz, however, not Rose, who went on to clinch one of those coveted regional spots.

Mackiewicz was excited about the opportunity, but she didn’t feel quite right about it. After all, Rose was a senior, had been dedicated to the team and had never had a chance to compete in an NCAA regional.

After ultimately deciding that Rose deserved the regional opportunity more, Mackiewicz took her idea to the coaches, who agreed to insert Rose in the regional lineup in Mackiewicz’s place.

“Coach announced it to the team and I think Charlotte was really surprised,” said Mackiewicz. “She got up and hugged me. I think the whole team was happy with the decision.”

Though Mackiewicz admitted that she struggled with the decision, she said she has no regrets and is looking forward to making the most of her remaining opportunities to qualify for a regional berth.

“I’m not going to regret my decision because I felt like I was going to have more respect for myself and my teammates and my coaches,” she said. “In the end, I think it was what was going to be more meaningful to me.”

The gesture was meaningful to Rose, who noted in Mackiewicz’s application for the Sportsmanship Award: “I don’t know how often something like what (Aleksandra) did happens, but I definitely think that her selfless sacrificing of her spot really does speak for itself. This is the epitome of putting the team and teammates before oneself, which I believe to be the essence of a great athlete.”

Mackiewicz has taken a leave from her studies and athletics pursuits at Brown this year and is interning at a hospital in Boston. She aspires to explore ways of applying biophysics to medical imaging and architecture.