2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Teams

Skillman, NJ -- In a recent announcement by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), Academy of Art University Women's Tennis officially captured the program's first 2014 All-Academic Team Award and a pair, Jenny Johansson and Annika Schneider, named ITA Scholar-Athletes. These honors add to a historic year that saw the Urban Knights go 17-4 and make their first NCAA postseason appearance.

"The girls work so hard on the court, but this award shows their sincere dedication to their studies," head coach Beth Daub said. "They continue to take this program to the next level and I am so proud of them. Being recognized academically by the ITA this year is a huge accomplishment and the future is bright for ART U Tennis."
 
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA member program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). 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 two semesters (including freshman through senior year).

Collectively ART U Women's Tennis produced a 3.317 GPA across the 2013-14 academic year, among the top three teams out of 16 sports sponsoder by Academy of Art. Johansson, who became the program's career singles and doubles wins leader as a junior this year, finished 2013-14 with a 3.51 GPA in Fashion Design while Schneider, a freshman who posted an impressive 18-2 doubles record with teammate Michelle Dandik Zaale and went 11-3 in singles, started strong with a 3.55 GPA in her first year as a Graphic Design major.

All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, or CA JUCO eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2013 and spring 2014). Read the ITA's release here.

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of varsity collegiate tennis players. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches and 20,000 student-athletes from over 1,200 institutions, has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, sportsmanship and athletic performance. The ITA annually recognizes over 3,000 student-athletes on an individual and team basis from over 500 different varsity tennis programs. For more information on the ITA Awards program, please visit www.itatennis.com.