CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Fourteen tennis student-athletes, 10 of which were all-conference honorees, have been selected to the America East Men’s and Women’s Tennis All-Academic Teams as was announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon. These student athletes, who excel both academically as well as athletically, represent the best of the America East Conference.
The men’s squad is highlighted by two-time Player of the Year Sven Vloedgraven (Lochem, Netherlands) of Binghamton University, who is joined by teammates Moshe Levy (Ra’ananna, Israel) and Gilbert Wong (Hong Kong), University of Hartford’s Aneil Bhalla (Ottawa, Ontario), UMBC’s Joseph Adewumi (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Stony Brook University’s Jon Epstein (Silver Spring, Md.), Ivan Rummel (Budapest, Hungary) and Ilan Shvartz (Haifa, Israel).
Vloedgraven, Levy, Wong, Rummel, Shvartz, Adewumi and Epstein were all-conference selections, while Bhalla led the group with the highest grade-point average, a 3.97 in biology and chemistry.
The women’s team is made up of Binghamton’s Marina Bykovskaya (Saratov, Russia), Boston University’s Petra Santini (Sibenik, Croatia) and Francine Whu (Staten Island, N.Y.), UMBC’s Alice Chen (Biochemistry and molecular biology), and Stony Brook’s Gayatri Krishnan (Chennai, India) and Anna Pieschl (Gothenburg, Swedan).
Bykovskaya and Santini were each first-team all-conference selections, while Chen was a second-team all-conference pick. Chen also earned the highest GPA, a 4.00 in biochemistry and molecular biology.
The All-Academic squads are a product of the June 2005 Athletics Director meetings, where faculty representatives and athletics directors from each of the conference’s nine member institutions decided to honor the league’s top student-athletes, whom excel equally in the classroom as they do on the playing field.
For the second straight year, America East will select the All-Academic teams using CoSIDA’s Academic All-America program as a model. Student-athletes worthy of consideration are nominated by member sports information directors and voted on by a committee of SIDs, academic advisers and faculty representatives from all nine member institutions.
All-Academic squads for team sports are based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time (example: six players in tennis) or are made up of 10 student-athletes for individual sports. There may be more student-athletes recognized if a tie exists or fewer if eligibility requirements limit the number of nominees. To be nominated for the distinction, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team’s games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. Freshmen are not eligible for consideration.
2010 America East Men’s Tennis All-Academic Team
Name Cl. School Hometown GPA Major
Joseph Adewumi So. UMBC Phoenix, Ariz. 3.72 Biochemistry/Molecular biology
Jon Epstein Sr. Stony Brook Silver Spring, Md. 3.54 Business management and economics
Aneil Bhalla So. Hartford Ottawa, Ontario 3.97 Biology and chemistry
Moshe Levy Sr. Binghamton Ra’ananna, Israel 3.39 Marketing
Ivan Rummel Sr. Stony Brook Budapest, Hungary 3.82 Business management and economics
Ilan Shvartz Sr. Stony Brook Haifa, Israel 3.69 Business management and economics
Sven Vloedgraven Jr. Binghamton Lochem, Netherlands 3.89 Management
Gilbert Wong So. Binghamton Hong Kong 3.74 Accounting
2010 America East Women’s Tennis All-Academic Team
Name Cl. School Hometown GPA Major
Marina Bykovskaya So. Binghamton Saratov, Russia 3.80 Undecided
Alice Chen Sr. UMBC North Potomac, Md. 4.00 Biochemistry & molecular biology
Gayatri Krishnan So. Stony Brook Chennai, India 3.94 Business management & economics
Anna Pieschl So. Stony Brook Gothenburg, Sweden 3.52 Business management
Petra Santini So. Boston U. Sibenik, Croatia 3.80 Advertising
Francine Whu Sr. Boston U. Staten Island, N.Y. 3.67 Sociology
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