[Tennis] Falcon Tennis Receive Multiple ITA Academic Awards

WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University men's and women's tennis programs enjoyed solid representation on the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) academic awards.

Both the Falcon men and women squads received the ITA All-Academic team honor, given to teams with at least a 3.2 grade-point-average.

"It's great to see hard work on and off the court by a good group of athletes striving for academic excellence," Friends men's tennis head coach Alex Lee said. "Congrats to our team and keep up the good work."

Individually, seven Women's Tennis Falcons received ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete recognition, with the Men's Tennis Falcons placing five on the Scholar Athlete list.

To qualify for the ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete award, the student-athlete must maintain a 3.5 GPA for the current academic year.

"This was a team of hard working young ladies both on the court and in the classroom," Friends women's tennis head coach Sandy Nixon said.  "I am proud of both their academic and athletic performances and disappointed we lost our 2020 spring season."

The Men's and Women's Tennis ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete recipients are listed below:

Men

Kris Veljacic

Franco Iozzo

Hugo Prats

Nathan Watson

Gabriel Coachman

Women

Abigail Thibodeau

Amanda Zavala

Matty Donaldson

Madeline Watson

Sydney McGrown

Ariel Williams

Cassidy Darrah