Sept. 6, 2006
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina women's tennis juniors Trish Hanson and Susanna Sjokvist have been honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) by being named Scholar Athletes by the governing body. Also, the Catamounts as a team were also honored by the association by being named an All-Academic team.
Western has had at least one student-athlete honored by the ITA since 2003 with a total of 10 selected as Scholar Athletes, including a school-record five tabbed in 2005. This year marks Western's third time since 2002 having earned the distinction as an All-American team with the other honors coming in 2003 and 2005.
"This is a nice honor not only for our team and the University, but also for the professors and the academic support staff that work closely with our student-athletes," said WCU head coach Jan Stubbs. "It is great having Trish and Susanna again named to the ITA All Academic Individual Team. I admire Susanna for maintaining a perfect 4.0 average each of her first four semesters here at Western."
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 eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year. One of a total of 92 teams honored, Western was just one of four Southern Conference teams recognized by the ITA, joining the College of Charleston, Elon and Furman.
In order to earn ITA Scholar Athlete status a player must be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters. Hanson and Sjokvist, who each earned their second Scholar Athlete award of their career, were among 414 NCAA Division I women honored by the ITA.
Hanson posted a team-high six wins in 2006 in the number one position for Western, with Sjokvist tallying three in the number two slot. Both were also named to the SoCon's TIAA-CREF Spring All-Academic Team. At the 2006 SoCon Tennis Championships, Hanson earned the prestigious Sportsmanship Award, while Sjokvist is a two-time Female Scholar Athlete of the Year at Western.
Western Carolina Announces 2006-07 Women's Tennis Schedule
The Western Carolina women's tennis team opens its 2006-07 season in two weeks, visiting the East Tennessee State Fall Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., on Sept. 15-17 in the first of five fall competitions. Other dates this fall include trips to the Chattanooga Fall Tournament (Sept. 21-24), the North Carolina State Fall Tournament (Sept. 28-Oct. 1), the ITA Southeast Regionals in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Oct. 13-15) and the South Carolina Fall Tournament (Oct. 27-29).
Western opens its spring season on Feb. 10, 2007 by visiting neighboring Brevard College before returning home for three-straight home matches, Feb. 16-18, including their home opener versus Presbyterian on the 16th. The spring also includes nine Southern Conference matches - five of which are in Cullowhee - and non-conference home matches versus Coastal Carolina and Charlotte. The Catamounts visit mountain-rival, UNC Asheville, on March 15.
The 2007 SoCon Tennis Championships will again be held in Charleston, S.C., April 19-22.
