JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (July 22, 2011) – Both the ETSU men’s and women’s tennis teams have received the 2011 All-Academic Team award by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), while a total of twelve Buccaneers received the ITA Scholar-Athlete honor.

The men’s tennis team is receiving the award for the first time since 2003 while the women’s team was last recognized in 2009 and has been honored five of the last seven years.

“These are the type of kids we want on our team and I’m extremely proud of them,” said director of ETSU tennis Yaser Zaatini. “These are the people of the future and if they keep doing business the way they are, then there is nothing but success ahead for them.”

To receive the ITA All-Academic Team award, the program must carry a team grade point average of 3.20 or higher (on a 4.00 scale). The Scholar-Athlete award is earned by varsity letter winners who carry a grade point average of at least 3.50 and have been at their present school for a minimum of two semesters.

On the men’s side, Robin Akser (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden), Jesus Bandres (Caracas, Venezuela), Jeremy Bonnevalle (Keerbergen, Belgium), Sander Gille (Bois Guillaume, France), Roger Ordeig (Gurb, Spain) and Grega Teraz (Mojstrana, Slovenia) received the individual awards. They represented six of the 25 student-athletes who were recognized from the Atlantic Sun.

Paula Jaime (Madrid, Spain), Giulia Andreazza (Balneario Camboriu, Brazil), Kelly Holtzhausen (Johannesburg, South Africa), Diana Navrotska (Lviv, Ukraine), Tara Sheets (Gate City, Va.) and Andra Voinea (Brasov, Romania) received the individual honors from the women’s team. They joined four other student-athletes from the Atlantic Sun receiving the ITA Scholar Athlete honor.

“When you see six of the ten girls and six of the 25 guys being honored in the conference are from ETSU, it shows you the quality of individuals we’re bringing in tennis wise,” said Zaatini. “It’s a tribute to them personally and what their work ethic is.”

ETSU tennis is coming off a season that included both a men’s and women’s Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship, the first time since 2009. This year marks the first time both teams have received the ITA academic honors after winning their conference championships. 

For more information on ETSU tennis please go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the tennis links. Also, be sure to follow ETSU Athletics on Facebook (ETSU Buccaneer Athletics) and Twitter (@ETSUAthletics).