Ferris State Tennis Teams Tabbed Among Nation's Top Academic Squads

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's tennis programs both ranked among the top academic squads in the nation this past year, according to the recent announcement of the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Teams.

Both the Bulldog men's and women's programs, which were guided by second-year head coach Chad Berryhill, earned All-Academic Team recognition for the 2013-14 campaign. FSU was one of only two schools in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to have both teams recognized with the honor along with Ohio Dominican.

Additionally, a total of seven FSU student-athletes earned Scholar-Athlete recognition in conjunction with the All-Academic Team announcement. The men's Scholar-Athletes included freshmen Laurent Mailloux, Justin Ecclestone and Andre Giacomazzi Serafim. Meanwhile, the women's Scholar-Athletes featured senior Ana Jan, sophomore Janie Sell, senior Anne Smudz along with freshman Gabrielle Demchenko.

A total of only 30 collegiate men's programs at the Division II level earned the All-Academic Team distinction with 58 women's squads claiming the same recognition.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA member program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, or JUCO eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2013 and spring 2014).

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must meet the following criteria: 1) be a varsity letter winner, 2) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3) have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).

All members of the 2014 All-Academic Teams and ITA Scholar-Athletes receive a certificate to recognize the achievement. "The ITA wishes to congratulate all schools named to the ITA All-Academic Team and the ITA Scholar-Athletes for achieving great success both on and off the court," said David Benjamin, Executive Director of the ITA. 

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of varsity collegiate tennis players. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches and 20,000 student-athletes from over 1,200 institutions, has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, sportsmanship and athletic performance. 

The ITA annually recognizes over 3,000 student-athletes on an individual and team basis from over 500 different varsity tennis programs. For more information on the ITA Awards program, please visit www.itatennis.com.

To view all members of the 2014 ITA All-Academic Team as well as past teams, please visit the ITA website here: http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Academic-Awards.htm