SKILLMAN, N.J. – The University of New Orleans men's and women's tennis teams were named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic teams on Friday.
The honor is bestowed to tennis teams that possess a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or above.
The UNO men's tennis team led the department this past year by posting a 3.547 GPA in the spring semester to bolster their overall cumulative GPA to a 3.432. The women's tennis team also met the mark by earning a 3.235 GPA during the spring semester as part of a 3.208 cumulative GPA.
“This is one of the greatest achievements that we have ever had as a team,” said Privateer head coach
Burzis Kanga. “As a program, this is what we strive for.”
“For our student-athletes, tennis has always been the gift as far as obtaining a scholarship. However, it is what they do in the classroom that will have the biggest impact on their lives.”
In addition, eight Privateer student-athletes were recognized as ITA Scholar-Athletes for the 2011-12 academic year. These individuals must have obtained a varsity letters and posted a grade-point average of at least 3.50 during the current academic calendar.
This group of honorees included
Kristina Martic and
Marta Sans from the UNO women's tennis team.
Ricardo Campos,
Vinay Kamineni,
Dominik Kardell,
Hossam Meligy,
Daniel Populus and
Sebastian Salazar comprised the distinguished representatives from the Privateer men's tennis squad. In total, all 10 members of the UNO men's tennis team posted a 3.0 GPA or higher this past academic year.
Compared to its counterparts in the state of Louisiana, only Louisiana-Lafayette joined UNO in receiving team representation from both its men's and women's teams. The eight individual ITA Scholar-Athletes were the most for any one institution in Louisiana.
Both UNO tennis teams will begin their 2012-13 slate in the Big Easy Classic. The three-day tournament will be held Sept. 21-23 at the University Tennis Center and is the first home tournament for the program since they hosted the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Championships.
