TEMPE, Ariz. – Seven Southern Conference women’s tennis teams were named Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Teams and 38 SoCon student-athletes representing all eight league schools were named ITA Scholar-Athletes when the organization announced its annual academic awards on Monday.
 
ETSU, Furman, Mercer, UNCG, Samford, Chattanooga and Wofford earned the team distinction. ETSU, Furman, UNCG and Wofford each had six players earn Scholar-Athlete distinction, followed by Mercer, Samford and Western Carolina with four apiece. Chattanooga had two to round out the SoCon’s selections.
 
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All varsity letter winners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year.
 
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 2.) be listed on the institutional eligibility form.
 
In 2023, 1,513 Division I women’s student-athletes were named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, and 234 women’s tennis programs were awarded the All-Academic Team distinction.
 
ETSU*
Laylo Bakhodirova
Emilia Alfaro
Yunuen Elizarraras
Mariya Shumeika
Fernanda Carvajal
Ralitsa Alexandrova
 
Furman*
Jess Dawson
Madison Dillon
Marissa Pennings
Eleanor Schulson
Sara Snyder
Luca Vocke
 
Mercer*
Mary Weston Courville
Allie Macrae
Lekha Verudandi
Kristin Yordanova
 
UNCG*
Arina Babkova
Olivia Gallagher
Raegan Mitchell
Ella Olexa
Rhoda Perry
Luna Urso
 
Samford*
Ally Hayduk
Samantha Maras
Lindsay Song
Lauren Waddles
 
Chattanooga*
Caroline Gibbens
Jessie Young
 
Western Carolina
Angela Perez
Madison Schwarz
Chloe Schwarz
Jade Groen
 
Wofford*
Catherine Blouin
Breda Brennan
Georgia Fischer
Emma Sorensen
Brianna Wilbur
Lily Woods
 
* Denotes All-Academic Team