The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tennis Teams Garner ITA Academic Awards
7/26/2004 | Women's Tennis
July 26, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's and women's tennis teams have been honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on both the team and individual levels during the 2003-04 season, as the ITA announced its yearly academic awards Monday.
The Lady Rebels were one of 83 Division I women's teams to earn the prestigious ITA All-Academic Team Award. This marks the eighth year in a row that the Lady Rebels have received this honor, open to teams that have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). The team boasted a 3.20 GPA for the 2003-04 academic year.
"This is a very prestigious honor," Lady Rebel head coach Mark Beyers said. All the players, past and present, have worked very hard in the classroom to maintain our status as one of the top academic teams in the country. This is something we mention at the beginning of every year as one of our main goals in addition to our athletic goals. It has become very important to each group of players. No one wants to be the first class to not receive this award."
In the individual awards, Lady Rebels' Florencia Basile, Karem Harboe, Sabrina Peppl and Virginia Tomatis and Rebels' Fredrik Aarum, David Donaldson and Claes Lindholm were named ITA Scholar-Athletes. In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must be a varsity letterwinner, have a grade point average of at least a 3.50 for the current academic year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).
Basile and Harboe and Tomatis earned the honor for the second consecutive year. Basile and Harboe both posted a 4.0 grade point average for the year and graduated in May with degrees in International Business. Tomatis, a rising junior, boasted a 3.73 GPA, also in International Business. Peppl, who completed her career this past year, registered a 3.52 GPA in International Business to receive the honor for the first time.
Aarum, a rising sophomore, registered a 3.66 GPA to earn the distinction in his first campaign as a Rebel. In addition to performing outstanding in the classroom, Aarum posted a 14-4 dual match record to help the Rebels capture the SEC Championship and end the year ranked No. 5 in the nation. Donaldson boasted a perfect 4.00 GPA as a member of the Honors College to receive the honor for the second year in a row. Lindholm completed an outstanding career with the Rebels this past year, carrying an impressive 3.81 GPA while playing a major role in the Rebels' SEC Championship run and top five national ranking.
"We commend Fredrik, David and Claes for their outstanding performance in the classroom," Rebel head coach Billy Chadwick said. "It's a tremendous honor to be recognized as an SEC Champion and an ITA Scholar-Athlete. We are very proud of the way they represented The University of Mississippi this past year."
