Tennis Programs Earn Academic Honors
By CSU Sports Information
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Columbus State University tennis programs and seven student-athletes were awarded for their work in the classroom, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its academic awards.
Both the Cougars and Lady Cougars were named as ITA All-Academic teams after posting a cumulative GPA above the 3.2 requirements. Individually on the men's side, Matei Avram, Arnold Kokulewski, Tommaso Schold, and Zach Whaanga were all named ITA Scholar-Athletes with Natalia Kattah Paz, Beatriz Lopez, and Candice Paya earning the honors for the women.
The success in both the classroom and on the court is nothing new for the Columbus State tennis programs under head coach Evan Isaacs. The men have now been named an ITA All-Academic team for the fifth straight season while the women have earned the honor in four out of the past five years.
On the court, both teams advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament yet again in 2019. The Cougars reached the national championship match for the second consecutive year while the Lady Cougars went to the national semifinals for the second time in program history.
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.2 or above (on a 4.0 scale). All varsity letter winners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2018 and spring 2019).
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 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).