2021 ITA DII Academic Awards

TEMPE, Ariz. – Academy of Art women's tennis aced a collection of academic awards announced on Tuesday, as sophomore Yun "Nicole" Shiau as well as freshmen Aitana Comas Adam and Julia Ortega have been named Intercollegiate Tennis Association DII Scholar-Athletes, while the Urban Knights have been named a ITA DII All-Academic team. 

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Julia, Aitana, and Nicole for receiving their ITA academic awards," said ART U Head Coach Clarisse Baca. "I know firsthand as a Division I student-athlete how hard it is to be successful at both athletics and academics, and now they are able to do it with online learning during an ongoing pandemic, which is remarkable. I am so very proud of them, and of the whole team for being able to keep up their work during these tough times." 

To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, all varsity letter winners are factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year, and the team must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or above on a 4.00 scale, which was accomplished by a total of 104 teams. The Knights finished 2021 by winning three of their final four matches, the only loss coming to NCAA DI opponent Nevada, and enjoyed a ranking as high as No. 24 in the nation. Twice did ART U defeat ranked opponents in the regular season, first breezing past No. 25 UH Hilo in a 7-0 sweep on Mar. 16 before closing out the year by taking down the then No. 24 Fresno Pacific in a thrilling 4-3 battle that came down to the final point, befitting its billing as the season finale. After a 4-1 win in the first round of the PacWest Championships over Colorado Mesa, the quest for the conference title would come to an end for the Urban Knights in the quarterfinals at the hands of No. 18 Concordia. It is the fourth time in ART U history and third consecutive year earning the achievement (also: 2014, 2019, 2020).

The requirement to be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete is that a student-athlete must have a GPA of at least a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for the academic year, a feat which was accomplished by a total of 711 student-athletes across the nation in 2021. It is first time that ART U has had three student-athletes named ITA Scholar-Athletes since 2014-15 when the Knights also had three honorees, and it is the third consecutive year that at least one Urban Knight has earned the honor. 

A 2021 All-PacWest Second Team Singles selection, Shiau posted a 6-2 record with three wins coming from each the No. 2 (3-2) and No. 3 positions (3-0) en route to a 3.97 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. Two victories in the final week earned her first PacWest Player of the Week award in her career, while she won four of her last five matches to end the season (the other was unfinished). Shiau also won her matchups in ART U's battles against nationally ranked No. 24 FPU and No. 25 UH Hilo. Additionally, Shiau was named an All-PacWest Doubles Third Team selection with partner Sofia Ragona, going 4-4 exclusively from the No. 1 position. Winners of three of their last four regular season contests, Ragona and Shiau took down their DI Nevada opponents while also winning their matchup when the Knights were victorious over No. 25 UH Hilo. Also a 2020-21 Academic All-PacWest selection, this marks the first time Shiau has been named an ITA Scholar-Athlete. 


A 2020 ITA Scholar-Athlete and a 2020-21 Academic All-PacWest honoree, Comas Adam has been named an ITA Scholar-Athlete for the second straight year after a season in which she achieved a 3.89 cumulative GPA in the School of Web Design & New Media and posted a combined 10 victories, five each in singles play and doubles action. All five of the singles victories came from court four, including a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Carmelle Joyner during ART U's defeat of then No. 25 UH Hilo, as well as her straight set 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alice Marques of then No. 24 FPU. Meanwhile in doubles with partner Erica Hellbe, the duo picked up four wins on court four as the anchor to the back end of the doubles rotation.


A two-time Academic All-PacWest selection after she earned the achievement in 2021, Ortega accomplished a 3.69 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies, as well as provided stability to the Urban Knights from court six by producing a 6-4 record from the No. 6 position. She would end the year with a total of seven singles wins, also going 1-0 on court five. Ortega won all three of her matchups when Academy of Art battled against Fresno Pacific, including each of her final two battles to close out the regular season and in the consolation bracket of the PacWest Championships. In doubles play, Ortega claimed four victories over the course of the campaign, three coming with partner Maria Vittoria Casucci. It is the first time that Ortega has been named an ITA Scholar-Athlete.