2024 ITA Division II Academic Awards

TEMPE, Ariz. – Academy of Art women's tennis made history with Tuesday's Intercollegiate Tennis Association's announcement of academic awards as eight Urban Knights in seniors Viktoria Leth, juniors Erica Hellbe, Paulina Alvarez, and Maria Vittoria Casucci, sophomore Jessica Plazas, and freshman Amelija Supulniece, Estelle Najean, and Georgiana Parr were named ITA Scholar-Athletes while ART U as a squad collected another All-Academic Team selection.

"To have every person on the team earn this academic award is reflective of the high standards each player lives by not only on the court but off of it too," said Head Coach Nicole Briceño. "I'm so proud of each one of these girls and how they commit to being the best version of themselves each day all through hard work."

To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, all student-athletes are factored into the cumulative team grade point average for the current academic year, and the team must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or above on a 4.00 scale. For the 2023-24 calendar year, Academy of Art was one of 112 teams to be named an All-Academic Team. This is the seventh year overall that Academy of Art has been named an ITA All-Academic Team, first earning the honor back in 2014 before doing so in each of the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. To read more about what Academy of Art achieved this season, click here.

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 759 student-athletes across the nation in 2024. A program-record eight Urban Knights earned the honor in 2024, which tops the previous record of seven that was achieved last year in 2023. This is now the sixth consecutive and eighth year overall that ART U has had a Knight earn an ITA Scholar-Athlete honor, with the first two instances occurring in consecutive seasons in 2014 and 2015 before the program did so in each of the past five years. This also marks the seventh time that Academy of Art has had multiple honorees (others: 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Viktoria Leth
Leth's third season with the program saw her contribute 27 wins across singles and doubles play as she excelled in the classroom with a 3.92 GPA in the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design combining the 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring semesters. Leth, who saw as much as a nine-match win streak in doubles this season saw seven of her total victories come from the Pacific West Conference Tournament where she clinched two matches for the squad en route to the program's first PacWest Championship title while she also was awarded the 2024 PacWest Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player honor. Adding to her academic awards this season, Leth also received 2024 CSC Academic All-District Team and a 2023-24 Academic All-PacWest Team award while having her work displayed in the Spring Show.

Erica Hellbe
Thriving in the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design with a 3.80 GPA over the past two semesters, Hellbe competed alongside Supulniece to compose the doubles team on Court 1 all season long for the Knights, ending the year with a No. 19 national ranking as well as a All-PacWest Second Team award. While she was also named the the Academic All-PacWest Team for the fourth-straight campaign, Hellbe put up 10 doubles wins for the squad throughout the season and took down some big teams in the process, including a top 10 team in the country. This is the third time Hellbe, who had her work featured in the Spring Show, has been an ITA Scholar-Athlete in her career.

Paulina Alvarez
Alvarez delivered an even 20 victories in 2024 with 16 of those coming from the doubles court while working toward a 3.60 GPA during the 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring semesters in the School of Interior Architecture & Design. With an 11-match win-streak of her own in doubles this season, Alvarez carried it through the PacWest Conference Championship Tournament where she went an undefeated 6-0 overall to help carry the team to their first title in program history. Alvarez additionally swept in doubles in the squad's first match at NCAA Division II Nationals on May 20 and can now pair her second ITA honor with her third Academic All-PacWest Team award she received earlier this season and with her work in Spring Show as well.

Maria Vittoria Casucci
Regularly found competing in the team's third singles court in 2024, Casucci worked her way to a 3.60 GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies this past Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. She recorded five victories in the third singles spot, including a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 triumph at the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament against UIndy on May 20 as she clinched the match for the Knights to send them to the next round. This is the second ITA Scholar-Athlete in the career of Casucci, a featured individual at Spring Show, and puts it together with her 2023-24 Academic All-PacWest Team honor this season.

Jessica Plazas
Plazas not only put together a 3.80 GPA in the School of Acting over these past two semesters, but also emerged as the 2024 ITA West Region Player To Watch. Along with her team-high 18 singles matches won on the campaign, Plazas was additionally honored by being named to the All-PacWest Second Team. Ranked the No. 62 singles player in the nation this year at one point, the Acting major has won a set 6-2 or better on 32 occasions throughout her 32 total wins over both singles and doubles courts while defeating two nationally-ranked opponents. Plazas additionally defeated her opponent against No. 46 Concordia to clinch the postseason victory and send the Urban Knights to Nationals after winning six matches at the PacWest Conference Championship Tournament.

Amelija Supulniece
Working toward what was an impressive 3.83 GPA in the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design across the 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring semesters, Supulniece started her collegiate career at ART U with 24 victories across singles and doubles, all on Court 1. Earning the title of 2024 PacWest Freshman of the Year, Supulniece was additionally named to 2024 All-PacWest First Team (singles) and 2024 All-PacWest Second Team (doubles) within the conference, while also being crowned as a 2024 ITA All-American (singles). The Riga, Latvia native finished her freshman campaign with a No. 14 national ranking in singles as she was also a part of the 2023-24 Academic All-PacWest Team.

Estelle Najean
Najean brought in 21 victories in her freshman campaign while working toward a 3.54 GPA during the 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring semesters in the School of Motion Pictures & Television. She competed on both Courts 3 and 4 in singles throughout the duration of the campaign while locked into Court 2 all season long in doubles with Plazas. Najean helped boost the Knights to victory in their PacWest Conference Championship win as well as their NCAA DII West Regional matchup hosting Concordia on May 10 with an impressive 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win. This is the first award Najean has received in her collegiate career overall.

Georgiana Parr
Sporting a 3.90 GPA in the School of Fashion Styling this past 2023 Fall and 2024 Spring semesters, Parr kicked off her collegiate career with six singles wins in her opening campaign. With five of those victories coming in straight sets, Parr took down her opponents with nine of those frames finalizing with a 6-2 score or better. Towards the end of the campaign, Parr picked up her sixth win in competitive fashion, taking it 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 on Apr. 7. This award comes with Parr's 2023-24 Academic All-PacWest Team selection as well.