For the eighth consecutive year, the Hope College men's tennis program has been named an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). In addition, six members of the 2013 team have been named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
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/CA JUCO eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2012 and spring 2013).
Coach Steve Gorno's MIAA co-champion Flying Dutchmen maintained a 3.373 grade point average during the 2012-13 school year. The team was also named to the Academic Honor Roll of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).
"I am tremendously proud of this year's team," said coach Steve Gorno who has guided the program since 1993. "To win a share of the MIAA Championship for only the third time in the last 75 years was an awesome achievement. But I am equally proud of winning the ITA All-Academic Team Award for the eighth straight season, which included five of six seniors achieving better than a 3.5 GPA in their final year at Hope.
"When you combine these accomplishments with winning the MIAA Stowe Sportsmanship Award for the 13th time in the last 18 years, it really shows the commitment of every member of this team to competing and winning the right way in all aspects of their lives."
Players named ITA Scholar-Athletes are junior Parker Bussies of Zeeland (Zeeland West HS), senior Gabe Casher of Ann Arbor (Pioneer HS), senior Bobby Cawood of East Lansing (East Lansing HS), senior Kyle Kreps of Holland (Holland HS), senior Daniel Owens of Rocky River, Ohio (Rocky River HS), and senior Davis Vanderveen of Clarkston (Clarkston HS).
Vanderveen is being honored for a fourth straight year while Bussies, Casher and Kreps have received the distinction three consecutive years. Honored for the first time were Cawood and Owens.
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1) be a varsity letter winner, 2) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3) have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).
