Aug. 18, 2008

List of ITA Academic Honorees

Nashville, Tenn. - The academic achievement of the Belmont men's tennis teams along with eight BU student-athletes were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as it announced its Academic Awards for the 2007-2008 school year.

The Belmont's men tennis team was named an ITA All-Academic team. To be chosen for this honor, a squad must have a cumulative team grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale) and all team members must have competed in at least one match during the 2006-2007 season. The Belmont men's team, who finished with a team GPA of 3.44, was one of 41 teams honored in Division I and the only Atlantic Sun Conference squad among the list of schools.

In addition, eight Belmont tennis players earned the ITA's Scholar-Athlete Award. To earn the Scholar-Athlete Award, a player must be a varsity letterwinner, have a GPA of 3.50 and been enrolled at the school for two semesters. Belmont's five honorees from the men's side were: Felipe Cirne Lima, Ignacio Gesto, Marshall Lipman, Brady Manifold, and Fausto Rocha. The three honorees from the women's team were: Linda Johansson, Kelly Pence, and Tatiana Pozo. In all, 27 Atlantic Sun men's and women's tennis players earned the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award.

During the 2007-2008 season, both of Belmont tennis teams reached the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Championship, while Whitnie Warren and Abby Leatherwood were honored by the Atlantic Sun with All-Conference and All-Freshman honors respectively.