University of Minnesota Athletics
Tennis Teams Both Land ITA Academic Awards
8/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Minnesota's men's and women's tennis teams were both honored for their academic achievement this past season with Intercollegiate Tennis Association academic awards.
The Gophers' men's team was among the 48 teams and four Big Ten schools recognized by the ITA, while the women's squad was one of 104 teams and seven Big Ten schools honored with the award. The team honor is presented to any program that achieves a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or higher. All athletes who compete in at least one varsity match are included in the team average.
It marks the second straight year that both Minnesota's men's and women's programs have been honored with the award. The Gopher women's team has received the award seven of the past eight years. Every member of this year's women's team had at least a 3.0 grade point average as the squad was also recognized earlier this spring with the university's academic award for small women's teams.
In addition, the Minnesota men's and women's teams each had five athletes receive individual scholar-athlete awards from the ITA. In order to be eligible, athletes must be letterwinners, own at least a 3.50 grade point average and have been enrolled for at least two semesters.
Junior Dino Bilankov and sophomore Sebastian Gallego were each honored for the second straight year for the men's team, while senior Alex Seaton was a repeat scholar-athlete from the women's team.
Other men's individual honorees were sophomore Tobias Wernet and freshmen Julian Dehn and Michael Sicora. Additional scholar-athletes from the women's team were sophomores Alessandra Ferrazzi and Peta Forsyth and freshmen Magdalena Wiecha and Niltooli Wilkins.
Michigan State and Ohio State were the only other two Big Ten schools to have both their men's and women's teams honored.
Players Mentioned
