May 28, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
Senior Matej Zlatkovic has been chosen as the recipient of the 2010-11 Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship.
The Ljubljana, Slovenia, native is entering his second season at Illinois State, after transferring from East Tennessee State in 2009. Zlatkovic had a stand-out season for the Redbirds in 2009-10, achieving all-conference honors while posting overall singles and doubles records of 26-12 and 20-12, respectively.
Head coach Cris James believes this is a well-deserved award for Zlatkovic.
"Matej embodies all the qualities of a great student-athlete," James said. "He works his butt off both on the court and in the classroom and has already become a leader of our team, after being here only one year."
Established in 1998, the Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship is presented annually to an ISU men's tennis player. The endowment was funded by friends of Green, the former Redbird tennis player who competed at Illinois State prior to World War II. A 1942 graduate, Green was a two-time conference champion and was named to the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973.
Green was the principal advocate for tennis in Bloomington-Normal for several decades. He organized matches and often rewarded competitors with treats from Nestle-Beich, where he was a manager. He also played a role in the Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Evergreen Racquet Club junior development tennis programs.
First awarded in 1999, the Benoni Green Scholarship is one of 23 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes that are funded by private donors. For more information about establishing an endowed scholarship, please call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803
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