Monday, August 18, 2008

SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Atlantic Sun furthered its tradition for academic excellence when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its Scholar Athletes and All-Academic teams for 2008. Belmont men's and ETSU women's tennis earned team honors and a total of 29 Atlantic Sun student-athletes were named Scholar Athletes.

Belmont, the winner of the Atlantic-Sun Academic Trophy for 2007-08, boasted nine student-athletes named Scholar Athletes by the ITA. Stetson landed the second-most individual honors with eight selections. USC Upstate had seven selections and ETSU had five women earn individual honors.

For teams to be selected for the All-Academic team, a squad must have a cumulative team grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale) and all team members must have competed in at least one match during the 2007-2008 season. The qualifications for an individual to earn the Scholar-Athlete Award were that the player must be a varsity letterwinner, have a GPA of 3.50 and been enrolled at the school for two semesters.

Gardner-Webb men’s and women’s teams were also honored along with eight individual athletes.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.