Golden Eagle tennis named ITA All-Academic team, three are Scholar-Athletes
The Tennessee Tech tennis team has earned distinction as an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and Golden Eagles Vasily Eremeev, Gagan Jain and Alberto Esteban have been named Scholar-Athletes.
View the ITA Academic Awards web page
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech tennis team has earned
national recognition for academic success from the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association (ITA) as an All-Academic Team, and three Golden
Eagle players have been named Scholar-Athlete honorees. Earning the
individual award are senior Vasily Eremeev, sophomore Gagan Jain,
and freshman Alberto Esteban.
The ITA announced the honors this week, confirming that the
members of the Golden Eagle tennis team are committed to success in
the classroom.
"These honors are a reflection of the type of student-athlete that
we look for, and the dedication they have toward their academic and
athletic success," said Golden Eagle coach Kenny Doyle. "It points
to their work ethic on and off the court and it's gratifying to see
these rewards for their hard work and efforts."
It's the second time in three years that Doyle's team has been
named All-Academic, joining the 2012 Golden Eagle squad in earning
the award.
A first-year collegiate player from Madrid, Spain, Esteban
played in the No. 2 singles position for the Golden Eagles and at
No. 1 in doubles. In singles action, he went 7-7 during the fall
tournament season, then produced an 8-7 record in the spring dual
match schedule, including an impressive 7-2 mark in Ohio Valley
Conference matches. In double play, he was 5-2 against the OVC and
went 11-12 overall. He was named first-team all-OVC in his rookie
season.
Jain, a transfer from the University of Nebraska, played in the
middle of the singles lineup for the Golden Eagles and mostly at
the No. 3 spot in doubles. A native of Littleton, Colo., was 2-7 in
OVC singles matches and 3-3 in doubles action against the
league.
Eremeev captured the award for the second time in his four-year
Golden Eagle career. A native of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Eremeev
finished his career with a 3-4 record in singles OVC Play, and
posted an overall 15-15 record in doubles. He finished his 48-35
overall in doubles matches in four seasons and posted 47 career
singles victories.
The three Scholar-Athletes this year gives Doyle a total of 11
players who earned that honor in the past four years. In 2011,
Yianni Doropoulos, Lloyd Harris, Justin Kirstein, and Arturo Santa
Ruiz was recognized, and in 2012, Doropoulos, Eremeev, Ezequiel
Gils and Kirstein were on the list.
"Congratulations to coach Doyle and his team for being named an
All-Academic team, and to the three young men who have attained
individual honors," said TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.
"We're proud of these accomplishments, and are excited about the
direction our tennis program is headed."
The ITA All-Academic Team Award is open to any ITA member program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). 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).
Tech is one of four Ohio Valley Conference teams to earn the honor for 2013-14, joining Belmont, Morehead State and SIU Edwardsville. Individually, the OVC produced 12 players who are Scholar-Athletes. In addition to Eremeev, Jain and Esteban, the list includes Mauricio Antun, Cedrick Dajacquier and Martinjn Verbane of Belmont, David Clifford, Ji Hoon Heo, Adolfo Samudio and Jack Swindells of Morehead State, and SIU Edwardsville's Marten Jonsson and Nicolas Vincent.
