The UGA women’s tennis team earned ITA All-Academic honors while four Bulldogs were tabbed ITA Scholar-Athletes, the organization announced Wednesday. The Bulldog squad registered a 3.38 GPA while Elena Christofi, Stephanie Grodecki, Laura Patterson and Ellen Perez earned ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction.
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 varsity letter winners are factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year. Additionally, ITA Scholar-Athletes must have a GPA of 3.5 or above, be a varsity letter winner and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
“It’s quite an honor for the team and especially for Elena, Stephanie, Laura, and Ellen to be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete,” said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. “It’s a tribute to all the work they’ve put in during the year. They maintained an impressive GPA while training and competing at the highest level.”
Christofi and Perez also earned ITA All-American and All-Southeastern Conference accolades for the Bulldogs in 2017. Christofi, a rising sophomore, is intending to major in finance while Patterson, a rising senior, is majoring in finance. Perez studied sports management during her three years at UGA and opted to turn professional earlier this summer. Grodecki, a Dean’s List student, is a double major in biology and psychology.
The Bulldogs ended last year ranked No. 6 nationally with a 19-6 record. The 2017-18 season begins with individual tournament play in September.