July 27, 2001

Even though the season has been over for more than two months, accolades keep coming in for the Illinois women's tennis team, which posted its best season ever in 2000-01, taking second place in the Big Ten and winning its first-ever NCAA Tournament match.

The University of Illinois is one of 48 NCAA Division I institutions and one of five Big Ten schools whose women's tennis teams were cited today by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association as ITA All-Academic Teams for 2001. To earn the honor, team members must have a combined grade point average of 3.20 (4.00 scale) or better.

In addition, Illinois' two outgoing seniors, Simone Kung and Carla Rosenberg, were named ITA Scholar-Athletes for 2001. In order to receive Scholar-Athlete status, a player must bee a junior or a senior in school, be a varsity letterwinner, and must have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (4.00 scale).

"We take a lot of pride, not only in what we do on the tennis courts, but also what our women do in the classroom," said UI Head Coach Sujay Lama. "A big part of what we do is to encourage them to excel academically, as well as athletically. Awards like these say a lot about the kind of student-athletes we have here and about what we're trying to achieve. It's very fulfilling as a coach to see our people recognized for such outstanding achievements."

This is the third year in a row that the Illini women's tennis team has been so honored. Lama began his tenure as Illinois coach prior to the 1998-99 season.