FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

ITA Academic Award Winners

July 18, 2011-- The North Central College women's tennis program secured a handful of academic honors courtesy of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, claiming the All-Academic Team Award while Stephanie Brunetti, Polly Dalton, Alicia DeGrado, Erica Pang and Madeline Urban were all honored as ITA Scholar Athletes for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The Cardinals were the lone College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin institution to earn the All-Academic Team Award, earning the distinction for the second time in the last three years. The 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 eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year.

All five individuals are earning their first career Scholar Athlete Award. Brunetti finished the 2010-2011 campaign with an 11-5 overall record in singles, playing primarily at the No. 6 position. The freshman marketing major compiled a 10-5 record in doubles play, playing primarily at the No. 3 spot.

Dalton earns ITA honors after posting a 1-1 record in both singles and doubles, as the freshman exercise science major saw most of her varsity action during the spring season.

DeGrado finished her senior campaign with an 11-9 record in singles, competing at the No. 2 spot while posting an 11-8 record at the No. 1 doubles position. The physical education major closed her career as the all-time leader in wins in both singles (60) and doubles (52) en route to her first ITA academic award.

Pang, an education major, earns the Scholar Athlete honor after posting a 1-1 record in both singles and doubles during the 2011 spring season.

Urban earns the honor after finishing the year with a 2-1 record in singles at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions. The business management major compiled an 0-3 mark in No. 2 doubles.

To be eligible for the Scholar Athlete Award, student athletes must be a varsity letterwinner, maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA for the academic year and be enrolled at his current college for at least two semesters.

The Cardinals posted their fourth straight 10-win season in 2010-2011, closing the year with an 11-5 record while placing fifth at the CCIW Championships. North Central opens its 2011 fall season on September 2, traveling to Decatur, Ill. for a dual match against Millikin University.