St. Cloud State tennis players receive ITA academic awards

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced the 2015 ITA All-Academic Teams and ITA Scholar-Athlete award winners. Both the St. Cloud State University men's tennis and women's tennis teams were named ITA All-Academic Teams and a total of seven Huskies gained ITA Scholar-Athlete awards.

SCSU women's tennis players selected for ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition this spring were freshman Alexie Portz, junior Gabriella Pung, sophomore Lauren Makela and sophomore Miranda Wynkoop. SCSU men's tennis players earning ITA Scholar-Athlete awards were sophomore Chris Mavetz, junior Victor Kasak and freshman Riley Bates.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any member program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA, NAIA or Junior/Community College eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2014 and spring 2015).

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) be a varsity letter winner, 2.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman thorough senior year).

All members of the 2015 ITA All-Academic Teams and ITA Scholar-Athletes will receive a certificate to recognize the achievement.

"At its core, college tennis is about higher education! And, our sport has always been a leader when it comes to high performing scholar-athletes," said Timothy Russell, Chief Executive Officer of the ITA. "This group represents the best of the best, as do their coaches who regularly serve as such great teachers and mentors of our sport's finest young people. Hearty and well-deserved congratulations coupled with loud cheers go out to all of these superstars of intercollegiate athletics."

In 2015, the St. Cloud State men's tennis team finsihed with a 13-6 overall record and were ranked 50th in the nation in the ITA's final NCAA Division II poll. The SCSU women's team finished the 2015 season with a 9-11, 6-5 NSIC record.