Aug. 4, 2004
ATLANTA – The 2003-04 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team, as announced by the ITA on July 26.
“When athletes come in here they are students first,” said Tech head women’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton, “and it’s nice to see that the team was recognized for its accomplishments in the classroom this year.”
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). Any eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form and have completed in one or more varsity sports must average into the GPA for the current academic year for team consideration.
The 2003-04 team was made up of two seniors, Sekita Grant (Orinda, Calif.) and Maria Nieto (Madrid, Spain); three sophomores, Kelly Anderson (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), Kacie Anson (Fayetteville, Ga.) and Lyndsay Shosho (East Amherst, NY); and two freshmen, Alison Silverio (Louisville, Ohio) and Lindsey Stauss (Racine, Wis.).
“I think that [Georgia Tech women’s tennis academic advisor] Kristina Wilhelm has done a great job with our team in providing them with the support so that they can be successful here at Georgia Tech,” said Shelton. “The kids themselves have done the work though. They are very serious about their academics and so for our team to have received the award, that says a lot.”
Earning individual honors for their work in the classroom were Anderson, Grant, Nieto and Silverio.
“I’m really proud of these four girls for their effort,” Shelton said.
In order for an individual to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must meet the following criteria: Each player must be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average of at least a 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
“We have a tradition of excellence in the classroom here at Georgia Tech with our team, and I just want to see that continue this season,” concluded Shelton.
The Yellow Jackets will begin their 2004-05 campaign with fall individual play beginning in October, and return five letterwinners from last season’s NCAA team. Joining them will be newcomers Kristi Miller, Esther van London and Daria Potapova.
