ELON, N.C. ? Elon men’s tennis players Kevin Beard and Cody Stauffer-MacDowell were recently recognized for their excellence in the classroom, being named 2009 ITA Scholar-Athletes. Beard, a senior from Matthews, N.C., and Stauffer-MacDowell, a sophomore from Asheville, N.C., were both honored by the ITA for the second consecutive year.
 
“Kevin and Cody exude what it means to be a student-athlete,” said Elon men’s tennis coach Michael Leonard. “They handle their responsibilities both on the court and in the classroom.”
 
To achieve scholar-athlete status, a player must be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average of at least 3.50 for the academic year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
 
The Phoenix men’s tennis team compiled a combined GPA of 3.19 during the 2008-09 school year, just narrowly missing the qualifying GPA of 3.20 for the ITA All-Academic Team award.