2024 ITA NCAA Division II All-Americans

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 23 Academy of Art women's tennis aced a national honor this week, as freshman Amelija Supulniece was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association 2024 Division II Women's Tennis All-American.

"Amelija has always been a team leader even as a freshman and has been very disciplined to work hard and push herself to be better each day," said Head Coach Nicole Briceño. "She never settles and it's what makes her such a fierce competitor. I attribute her success to her work ethic and her ability to make her team better by pushing them each day makes us better as a whole. Her standards are high and I am so proud of her and all that she's been able to achieve in such a short time."

Receiving the award for her singles play with all matches being played on Court 1, the native of Riga, Latvia boasted a 14-5 overall record in her rookie year which consisted of a six-match win-streak to start off her collegiate career. Supulniece finished off the campaign with a No. 14 national ranking in singles as she defeated five nationally-ranked opponents in her last 10 matches of the season, with the highest of those being No. 10. With her 14 wins on Court 1 this year, Supulniece now holds the mark for all-time most matches won on the highest court as a first year student-athlete.

Towards the end of an incredible season that featured Academy of Art's first PacWest Tournament Championship, the team as a whole made it as far as the Elite Eight in the NCAA DII National Championship Tournament in Altamonte Springs, Fla., with Supulniece recording one singles win, a 6-3, 6-2 score along the way in the Sweet Sixteen against UIndy's No. 58 Tyffaine Pais, to become the first Urban Knight in program history to triumph on Court 1 at the national stage.

Just after her first year with ART U, Supulniece can now tack on an All-American award to her young resume after also receiving 2024 PacWest Freshman of the Year and a 2024 All-PacWest First Team (singles) honor.

Supulniece is the second Knight to be named an All-American in singles after only Monika Stanikova achieved the honor in 2018 and 2019.