July 26, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Following the most successful season in program history, the Cleveland State women's tennis team has been recognized with the ITA All-Academic Team Award. CSU was one of 109 Division I programs to earn the honor.
In addition, senior Sanda Bjelan, junior Catrine Bjerrehus and freshman Alex Power were named ITA Scholar-Athletes on the women's side, while seniors Rob Fox and Aris Spirtos and sophomore Jay Jones were tabbed on the men's side.
The All-Academic Team Award is open to any ITA program and awarded to teams with a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or above. All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity match must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2010 and spring 2011).
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 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman thorough senior year).
The CSU men's squad captured its fourth straight Horizon League Championship in April and advanced to the 2011 NCAA tournament, falling in the first round at Kentucky. The women's squad finished as the league runner-up, falling to UIC in the title match.