TEMPE, Ariz. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced their All-Academic Teams and All-Academic Scholar Athletes for the 2018-19 athletic year and a handful of Aggies were recognized.
Both the Cameron men and women were named All-Academic teams for the 2018-19 season. The CU women have earned this honor in eight straight seasons, while the men have been honored in back-to-back years.
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team GPA of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale). Over 940 teams throughout collegiate tennis were named All-Academic teams.
Individually, five CU women's tennis student-athletes were named All-Academic Scholar Athletes.
Jordan Clauson,
Sarah Frendo,
Melany Opolz,
Alisa Savina, and
Rebeka Velasova were all recognized for their hard work in the classroom. For Frendo, Opolz, and Velasova, this is the second straight year that they have received the honor, while Clauson has been named an ITA Scholar Athlete all three years of her collegiate career.
On the men's side, a trio of individuals were recognized with
Mritunjay Badola,
Blake Graham and
Julen Gutierrez receiving ITA Scholar Athlete acclaim (this is the first year for all three to receive the honor).
Recipients of the ITA Scholar Athlete award 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
3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman through senior year).
Both the Aggie tennis programs had strong years on the court and in the classroom.
The CU men were the Lone Star Conference regular season champions, a South Central Regional Champion, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. In addition to being an ITA Scholar Athlete, Gutierrez also finished the season ranked ninth in doubles with teammate
Vinicius Santos, earning them All-American status. Cameron also finished the year ranked No. 15 in DII by the ITA.
Cameron's women had the highest team GPA by a women's tennis team in the LSC and were ranked No. 38 in the final ITA rankings. Both Opolz and Frendo were LSC All-Academic selections in addition to being named ITA Scholar Athletes; Frendo was also earned All-American status in singles with a No. 8 final ranking.
