TEMPE, Ariz.— The University of Idaho men's and women's tennis teams earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team award along with 14 student-athletes (men and women) receiving individual honors for their academic accomplishments. The organization released its 2021 All-Academic and Scholar-Athletes list on Monday morning. The women's tennis team earned the award for the fifth consecutive year.
On the women's side, the Vandals were one of 210 division I women's tennis teams to earn the ITA All-Academic Team honor. Idaho was one of seven Big Sky schools to earn the award including Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Portland State, Weber State and Northern Arizona.
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All varsity letter winners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2020 and spring 2021).
Individually, all seven Vandal women captured the ITA Scholar-Athlete award. Recently graduated Laura Spataro and Marta Magalhaes earned their fourth consecutive Scholar-Athlete award. Maggie Chen also nabbed her fourth consecutive honor, while rising sophomore Nicole Horacek earned her second ITA Scholar-Athlete honor. Rising senior Melissa Huchet and rising sophomores Saffron Dowse and Katherine Jhang each earned their first Scholar-Athlete award.
The Idaho men's tennis program also earned the ITA All-Academic team award and were one of 145 teams to receive the award. Idaho was one of five Big Sky schools to earn the award including Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, and Northern Arizona.
The men's squad featured seven individuals who captured the ITA Scholar-Athlete award. Rising junior Bruno Casino earned the honor for the third consecutive year. Rising sophomores Brandon Hodge, Francisco Bascon, and Adam Taylor all earned the award for the second time, while rising sophomores Matteo Masala, Alejandro Salvador, and Vivek Ramesh all earned the award for the first time.
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year and must be listed on the institutional eligibility. Teams earn the award by having a 3.2 grade point average (on a 4.00 scale).
In all, 1,054 Division I men's athletes were recognized along with 145 teams. On the women's side 1,505 Division I athletes were recognized along with 210 teams.
