USD women’s tennis named to ITA All-Academic Team

For the second straight year, The South Dakota Women's Tennis Team has received academic team honors from The Intercollegiate Tennis Association, according to an announcement by the ITA.

The USD tennis team is just one of 37 NCAA Division II schools to receive the honor, which requires a combined grade point average of 3.2 or better. In addition, four USD student-athletes were selected to the ITA All-Academic squad.

The honored student-athletes included junior Michelle Hogan, Rapid City; freshman Suzy Puetz and freshman Amanda Barton of Aberdeen; and freshman Kelli Galbraith of Rapid City.

Student-athletes with a 3.5 grade point average or better were named to the ITA academic honor squad.

"The Coyote women's tennis team has had success on and off the court," said third-year women's tennis coach Malcolm Gilreath. "For the second consecutive year, the tennis team has been honored as an ITA All-Academic squad, which is significant because it means the team attained at least an overall 3.2 GPA. In the last two years, we have had six individuals named to ITA's All-Academic Team.

"I am very proud of these academic accomplishments. Our team is doing a wonderful job of balancing their lives which will help them as they prepare for the future," he said.

This past season, the Coyote tennis team finished with a 13-13 record and sixth place at the NCC Championships.