SKILLMAN, N.J. – Four dozen athletes from nine Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) tennis programs earned All-Academic Team and Scholar-Athlete honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) following the 2015 season. 

Three MIAA schools earned 2015 All-Academic Team laurels for both of their tennis squads including Adrian, Calvin and Kalamazoo. Three other league institutions -Hope, Olivet and Saint Mary’s - claimed honors on the women’s side.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any 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 eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2014 and spring 2015). 

The ITA recognized 36 women and 12 men from the conference as ITA Scholar-Athletes. Kalamazoo led the league with a total of 13 scholar-athletes including eight women and five men. Each of the six women’s programs in the league produced at least five scholar-athletes while each of the three men’s programs yielded at least three.

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria:

• Varsity letter winner
• Grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year
• Enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year). 

All members of the 2015 ITA All-Academic Teams and ITA Scholar-Athletes will receive a certificate to recognize the achievement.   

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.