Ugur Atalay, a standout on the court for the men’s tennis team last season, is StudyInAmerica.com’s International Student of the Year for the class of 2012.

The website serves as a consulting service for prospective students from Turkey and Azerbaijan looking to attend college in the United States. Atalay, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, earned this year’s award after a four-year career with the Colonials that culminated in back-to-back A-10 championships and the 2011-12 Atlantic 10 Sportsmanship Award.

“Since the age of 12, Ugur has been ranked #1 by the Turkish Tennis Federation respective to his age,” the award’s press release said. “Despite his prior success, Ugur never got ahead of himself and came to the United States with a precise goal and purpose. He adjusted to his new setting and remained on course to not only grow as a person but also lead to inject great value to his surrounding community.”

Atalay was a four-year All-Conference selection during his tenure with GW, and was consistently strong at the No. 2 singles slot and No. 1 doubles slot last season.