Lindsay Morton, a junior tennis player at Ferrum College, remembers the advice a coach once gave her: "always, always have a spare racquet in your bag."

She heeded that advice, and ended up getting beaten by her own racquet.

Morton was down, 6-3, in an eight-game pro set of the 2000 Dixie intercollegiate athletic conference tennis championships, when her opponent broke a string on her tennis racquet. Officials gave the competitor from Christopher Newport University five minutes to replace her equipment or forfeit the match.

"She couldn't find her coach, and she didn't have a spare racquet in her bag," Morton said. "When it looked like she was going to have to forfeit," she said. "I went to my bag and gave her my racquet to use."

Like Ingram and Audu, Morton didn't hesitate about her decision, even though it meant almost certain defeat.

"It would have been so unfair to make her forfeit. I had played her before, so I knew she was good. But I didn't want to win by default. I didn't want it to end that way."

The Christopher Newport player prevailed, winning the next two games and advancing in the tournament.
By Kay Hawes, The NCAA News January 29, 2001