NEW ORLEANS – Sun Belt Conference men's and women's tennis had another busy summer across the country and around the world. Here is what has been going on in #SunBeltTEN over the past few months:
AROUND #SUNBELTTEN
• Five men’s and eight women’s teams were recognized as Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Teams for the 2018-19 season. Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern and Louisiana had had both their men’s and women’s teams recognized, Troy had its men's team recognized and Georgia State, ULM and Texas State had their women's teams recognized. 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).
• The Sun Belt boasted 61 student-athletes (21 male and 40 female) named ITA Scholar-Athletes for the 2018-19 season. On the men’s side, student-athletes at Appalachian State (3), Coastal Carolina (6), Georgia Southern (4), Georgia State (1), Louisiana (3) and Troy (4) were recognized. On the women’s side, student-athletes at Appalachian State (4), Coastal Carolina (7), Georgia Southern (7), Georgia State (5), Louisiana (6), ULM (6) and Texas State (5) were recognized. To earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a student-athlete 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, and 3) have been enrolled at his/her present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).
• Appalachian State graduate student Jeannez Daniel is one of the Sun Belt's two nominees for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Daniel is earning her master's degree in applied data analytics with a solid 3.76 grade point average. On the court, she posted a 10-8 mark in singles with a team-best 7-1 record in conference play. The 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
• Appalachian State juniors Blake Carter and María José Zacarias were named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award honors undergraduate students who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic field. The award is inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe, Jr. and his commitment to education as well as his love for the game of tennis.
• South Alabama graduate Alexandria Stiteler was one of seven Sun Belt student-athletes to receive a Sun Belt Postgraduate Scholarship following the 2018-19 academic year. Stiteler graduated in May with a Bachelor's degree in biology with a 3.63 GPA. She has been accepted into the St. John's University Law School in New York and has the goal of obtaining her Juris Doctor degree.
• Georgia State sophomore Roberts Grinvalds capped off a successful summer as the Bigaunciems, Latvia, native earned national titles in individual and mixed doubles competition in the Latvia National Championship. Grinvalds took on former Tennessee standout and three-time ITA All-American Mikelis Libietis, who had earned a No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles during his time with the Volunteers, in the individual national championship match where he led 6-3 before Libietis was forced to retire due to injury, giving Grinvalds the title. He teamed with Rutgers rising sophomore Kristiana Zahare to capture the mixed doubles title.
• Louisiana sophomore Jan Galka placed second in doubles at the Wroclaw World Cup 2019 Tournament in Poland.
• Coastal Carolina women's head coach Catherine Hewitt was featured in an article on TennisRecruiting.net.