The Tarleton State University TexAnn tennis team averaged a 3.78 GPA for the 2012-2013 school year. Their hard work was noticed by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), who honored them with the ITA All-Academic Team award and added six players’ names to the list of student athletes who have received the ITA Scholar Athlete Award.

For a team to be named an ITA All-Academic Team, the overall team GPA must be a 3.20 or higher. In order for an individual athlete to receive the award, they must have a 3.5 GPA or higher.

“Our program has been recognized for this honor 10 out of the last 13 years,” said head women’s tennis coach Lance Drake. “This award is a small token for the efforts these young ladies in our program have given in order to be successful in the classroom and on the court.”

Individual Scholar Athlete honors were given to six of the eight members of the tennis team. Those who received the award included Makenzie Mitchell, a sophomore and pre-med major from Mason, TX; Ivana Zecevic, a freshman and pre-law major from Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Alicia Perez, a junior and exercise physiology major from Murcia, Spain; Melanie Barnes, a junior and pre-law major from Duncan, OK; April Downing, a junior and exercise physiology major from Amarillo, TX; and Marina Rull, a freshman and theatre major from Barcelona, Spain. All six of the players earned a GPA of 3.5 or better.

“To attain this goal is difficult,” continued Coach Drake. “It requires a great amount of commitment and sacrifice. Considering some of our student-athletes are international makes this an impressive accomplishment. Each one of them has to be committed to do their best. They are great ambassadors for Tarleton State University on the local, state, national and global landscape.”