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	Women's Tennis Home HEADLINES Women's Tennis One Of Top Academic Teams Again Lady Rebel Netters Excel In The Classroom Lady Rebel Netter Kseniia Tokarieva Picks Up Another Award RELATED LINKS • Follow all of the college tennis action at CollegeSports.com • Email this to a friend

 
Women's Tennis One Of Top Academic Teams Again

Entire 2006 lineup named ITA Scholar-Athletes.

Aug. 10, 2006

OXFORD, Miss. - For the 10th consecutive year, the Ole Miss women's tennis team earned the prestigious ITA All-Academic Team Award, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its academic awards for the 2005-06 year. In addition, the entire Lady Rebel lineup (six players) from 2006 earned ITA Scholar Athlete honors.

"To be named an ITA All-Academic team 10 straight years is something all the players, the University and the community should be proud of," head coach Mark Beyers said. To have our entire starting lineup from last season be named ITA Scholar-Athletes is phenomenal. It's a tremendous credit to the players, who work very hard to be successful in the classroom, and we are proud of them."

Virginia Tomatis earned ITA Scholar Athlete honors for the third time with a 3.87 grade point average last year. She graduated from the University of Mississippi last May with a degree in Nutrition and was a regular on the Chancellor's and Dean's Honor Rolls during her four-year career. On the court, Tomatis twice earned All-SEC accolades.

Ilona Somers, a rising senior, picked up the honor, registering a 3.60 GPA for the year in Exercise Science. She made the All-SEC team in 2006 with a 20-10 overall record, and will be the lone senior on this year's squad.

Upcoming junior Nika Koukhartchouk earned the distinction for the second time in as many years with a 3.54 in Business. Also a junior to be, Mimi Renaudin finished with a 3.50 in Psychology to become an ITA Scholar-Athlete for the first time in her career.

SEC Freshman of the Year, Kseniia Tokarieva, had an outstanding debut for the Lady Rebels on the court, posting a team-leading 24-7 record. The Banking and Finance major earned a 4.00 in the classroom.

The Lady Rebels will return five of the top six from last year's lineup in 2006-07.