FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Sports is more than just competing against the opponent in front of you and trying to win a game or a match. It has the power to relieve stress, build friendships and be a part of something bigger than yourself. Northern Arizona women's tennis player Jordan Denesik has gone through some hard times in her life dealing with personal struggles like anorexia and bulimia. When life kicked Denesik down and she was struggling with the body image she saw, Denesik turned to tennis as a form of therapy and a way to get back to being the positive, healthy person she is today.   

The 2014 N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award intends to honor student-athletes that have been able to overcome great personal, academic and emotional odds to achieve academic success while competing in intercollegiate athletics. Nominees must complete a minimum three semesters while being in good academic standing. Rudolph was the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games despite being diagnosed with polio as a child.

"Jordan has been near death," said head coach Kim Bruno. "She was someone who was walking around without a soul and she could have given up hope but she didn't. She turned her life around and has been able to achieve day in and day out."

Denesik is a great example of a great person on and off the court who has had to overcome an emotional obstacle. Denesik battled with anorexia and bulimia throughout middle school, high school and even college. Denesik has had to battle with this since she was 13 years old constantly dealing with the way she looked and people calling her overweight and the problem continued to build as she got older.

"From eighth grade to my freshman year in high school it was such a blur," said Denesik. "I had dropped so much weight that my doctors were worried about me because it was not normal."

Denesik continued to lose more and more weight throughout high school, which led her parents to remove her from the tennis team. Filled with anger from being removed from tennis, Denesik, continued dropping weight while making trips across the U.S. visiting family. Denesik was placed into an intensive outpatient care where she was to meet with dieticians and therapists for 60 days. Denesik was fed through a tube that was placed in her nose that went to her stomach every night.

"Being fed through a tube was very interesting to say the least," said Denesik. "Luckily I was able to put weight back on and get closer to tennis shape and start playing."

Denesik would again have another setback when she turned to bulimia, throwing up twice a day. When she came up to college the pressure of school and tennis weighed on her heavily. Needing someone to turn to and ask for help, Denesik reached out to coach Bruno and help was delivered.

"When coach found out she immediately helped me through everything," said Denesik. "I went back to my dietician that I had been with for years and she continued to help me out and get back on track. I am so lucky to always have Coach there by my side and be with a great group of people that do not judge me for my past and it has helped me become a better tennis player and a better person."

Denesik started to get back on track by meeting new friends at her church along with her teammates at NAU who have constantly provided support for a problem that she has been able to overcome.

"It makes me feel honored being nominated for such a prestigious award," said Denesik. "From being out of tennis then making the team as a walk-on and now playing in the lineup is a dream come true. Knowing that I am even considered to be someone like Wilma Rudolph is really inspirational."

Not only does Denesik want to overcome this disease but she wants to share her story rather than hide from it and help out others that have gone through the similar struggles.

"I hope my story inspires other people and hopefully later on in life I can go around and tell my story to people so they can get back to where they need to be," said Denesik.   

Bruno has seen the transformation from her freshman year to now her junior year and has noticed the lifestyle change she has made.

"She has built herself into such a well-rounded person," said Bruno. "She went from walking on to now being a key contributor to this team and she is always positive. It is hard to believe that someone has gone through that when you talk to her. She instills belief in all of us."

Sports have the power to make a person a better human being and it can also be an outlet to escape the troubles in life and have the ability to inspire others. That is what Denesik has done in her life and will continue in future years to come.

"At first I only used tennis as a crutch for exercise," said Denesik. "When it was taken away from me I realized how much I loved the game and throughout all my troubles, tennis was able to keep me sane. Tennis has shown me that I am capable of doing anything that is impossible."