Demon Deacons Earn ITA All-Academic Honors
7/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Andrew Wilson, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Wake Forest women's tennis has been honored as one of the 2015 ITA All-Academic teams, the ITA announced Thursday. Additionally, three student-athletes -- Karen Forman, Kasey Gardiner and Luisa Fernandez -- were named ITA Scholar-Athlete award winners.
"At its core, college tennis is about higher education. And, our sport has always been a leader when it comes to high performing scholar-athletes," said Timothy Russell, Chief Executive Officer of the ITA, in the organization's announcement of the honors. "This group represents the best of the best, as do their coaches who regularly serve as such great teachers and mentors of our sport's finest young people. Hearty and well-deserved congratulations coupled with loud cheers go out to all of these superstars of intercollegiate athletics."
In order to earn Scholar-Athlete honors, a player has to be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale for the current academic year and have been enrolled at her present school for at least two semesters.
Forman, the lone senior on the 2014-15 squad, graduated in May with a degree in Business and Enterprise Management. Last season, she posted a stellar 21-9 record in singles, finishing tied for second on the team for most victories with Samantha Asch behind Kimmy Guerin, who posted 23 singles wins.
Gardiner, a rising senior and Accountancy major, posted a 16-12 record in singles, primarily at the No. 5 position. In finishing with a 19-9 doubles record, Gardiner came up big down the stretch of the campaign when paired with Guerin, as the two went 7-1 together and finished the season ranked No. 10 in the Carolina Region. With two wins in the ACC Championship against NC State, Gardiner surpassed the 100-victory mark with the Demon Deacons and will look to increase the figure in her senior season.
Fernandez will enter her third season in 2015-16 with the Demon Deacons. A Health and Exercise Science major from Pittsford, New York, Fernandez battled primarily at the No. 4 singles spot and posted a 12-14 record throughout the season. Fernandez was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team last month with Guerin.
Players Mentioned
