ITA Recognizes Tennis as Top Academic Program

The ITA named Western Illinois an all-academic team while individually acknowledging Laura Ballesteros, Maria Bessmertnaya, Ana Bjelica, Mary Bjelica, Natalia Bravo and Cary Milanes as scholar-athletes.

TEMPE, Ariz. – What more can be said about Western Illinois' women's tennis team? The ladies clinched a berth to the 2018 Summit League Tournament for the first time since 2010 and were equally as dominant in the classroom last year where they recorded the highest term grade point averages in Leatherneck athletics.

The team boasted a 3.816 GPA in the spring semester with three student-athletes posting a perfect 4.0, and for their efforts, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association named Western Illinois an all-academic team while individually acknowledging Laura Ballesteros, Maria Bessmertnaya, Ana Bjelica, Mary Bjelica, Natalia Bravo and Cary Milanes as ITA scholar-athletes.

"This is another testament to the talent on our team and the hard work that the girls put in last year," said head coach Mirko Bjelica.

Western finished the 2018 regular season ranked fourth in league standings with a 2-2 record against Summit opponents. In one of their most decisive wins, the Leathernecks defeated ORU, 6-1, after dropping a 4-3 decision a season ago. Mary Bjelica, Ana Bjelica, and Bravo dominated singles competition with records of 13-1, 12-3 and 9-8, respectively, while Ballesternos and Milanes combined for four wins as a double.

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 were factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2017 and spring 2018).

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) be a varsity letter winner, 2.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman through senior year).

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Players Mentioned

Laura Ballesteros: Sophomore; Castellar Del Valles

Maria Bessmertnaya: Senior; Akron

Natalia Bravo: 5' 6"; Sophomore; Colegio Bilingue Buckingham

Cary Milanes: Senior; Miami Palmetto

Ana Bjelica: Freshman; Homeschooled

Mary Bjelica: Freshman; Homeschooled

Players Mentioned

Laura Ballesteros
: Sophomore; Castellar Del Valles

Maria Bessmertnaya
: Senior; Akron

Natalia Bravo
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; Colegio Bilingue Buckingham

Cary Milanes
: Senior; Miami Palmetto

Ana Bjelica
: Freshman; Homeschooled

Mary Bjelica
: Freshman; Homeschooled