FIVE GRINNELL COLLEGE TENNIS PLAYERS NAMED ITA ACADEMIC SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Grinnell College Athletics
GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College had five players earn Academic Scholar-Athletes by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
To earn the honor, a player must have a grade point average of at least 3.50 for the current academic year, be a varsity letter winner and be enrolled at his or her present school for at least two semesters.
Those earning the honor were women’s players Catherine Fitch ’13, Laura Krull ’13 and Constanza Alarcon ’13, as well as men’s players Daniel Nellis ’13 and Colin Johnson ’13. Their efforts helped the Pioneers win league titles in both men’s and women’s tennis this past season.
“In the tennis program, we hold our student-athletes to a very high standard when it comes to nominating them for post-season academic honors,” said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. “We require our nominees to have at least been All-Midwest Conference or All-American athletic performers to go with their high-end academic achievements. This group of five seniors accomplished extra-ordinary things on and off the court and they deserve every honor bestowed upon them.
“Heading into her sophomore year, Laura transferred to Grinnell College looking for a more challenging academic program,” he continued. “It pleases me to no end that Laura accomplished her goal of getting into a top sociology graduate program at the University of North Carolina and became Grinnell’s first woman to qualify for nationals in tennis.
“Catherine fulfilled her reputation of being a fine doubles player as she carved out the most wins in women’s doubles at Grinnell,” Hamilton added. “More important to our program, however, was Catherine’s ability to unite her teammates. Catherine achieved extremely well while studying in one of Grinnell’s most challenging majors, physics.
“Coaches love to see development and Constanza did not disappoint, but I am talking about as a scholar,” he continued. “Stanie produced incredible success in the classroom during her senior year which makes me very proud. Her tennis play speaks for itself – four-time Midwest Conference singles champion.
