University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Men’s Tennis Earns ITA Academic Honors
Jul 26, 2017 | Men's Tennis
Four individuals named Scholar-Athletes
MEMPHIS – The University of Memphis men's tennis team earned its 13th Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team honor, Wednesday, for having a team GPA of 3.2 or higher. Memphis also had four players honored as ITA Scholar-Athletes for posting a GPA of 3.50 or higher during the past academic year.
This is a second ITA Scholar-Athlete honor for Shakeel Manji, Chris Patzanovsky and Felix Rauch and is the first academic honor from the ITA for rising senior Andrew Watson.
Manji is a rising senior at Memphis who teamed with Turner Voges for a doubles title at the Louisville Fall Invitational last year and was last named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2015 as a freshman.
Patzanovsky and Felix are both rising juniors at Memphis. Patzanovsky presented at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) that was hosted by the University of Memphis this past spring. His project was titled Conceptual Improvement in Understanding Physics: Integrating Computer Simulation Package PhET. The physics major was also named an ITA Scholar-Athlete as a freshman in 2016.
Rauch played six singles and three doubles for a major of a spring season that saw Memphis go 15-9 and qualify for the NCAA tournament for a fifth time in six seasons. Like Patzanovsky, Rauch was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete as a freshman in 2015.
Watson, who played one doubles and two singles for Memphis for a majority of the season, finishing the year ranked 104 in the country in singles and 68 in the country in doubles with teammate Kai Lemke. Watson, earning his first ITA Scholar Athlete Award, was 19-9 in singles as a junior and was 9-9 at one doubles with Lemke, including seven matches against nationally-ranked opponents.
Memphis advanced to the NCAA tournament last year without a senior on the roster. After finishing the year ranked 36th in the country, every player from last year's 15-9 squad is back this coming spring and the senior class of Lemke, Manji, Peniston and Watson is looking to advance past the NCAA first round for the first time in their respective careers in the spring of 2018.
This is a second ITA Scholar-Athlete honor for Shakeel Manji, Chris Patzanovsky and Felix Rauch and is the first academic honor from the ITA for rising senior Andrew Watson.
Manji is a rising senior at Memphis who teamed with Turner Voges for a doubles title at the Louisville Fall Invitational last year and was last named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2015 as a freshman.
Patzanovsky and Felix are both rising juniors at Memphis. Patzanovsky presented at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) that was hosted by the University of Memphis this past spring. His project was titled Conceptual Improvement in Understanding Physics: Integrating Computer Simulation Package PhET. The physics major was also named an ITA Scholar-Athlete as a freshman in 2016.
Rauch played six singles and three doubles for a major of a spring season that saw Memphis go 15-9 and qualify for the NCAA tournament for a fifth time in six seasons. Like Patzanovsky, Rauch was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete as a freshman in 2015.
Watson, who played one doubles and two singles for Memphis for a majority of the season, finishing the year ranked 104 in the country in singles and 68 in the country in doubles with teammate Kai Lemke. Watson, earning his first ITA Scholar Athlete Award, was 19-9 in singles as a junior and was 9-9 at one doubles with Lemke, including seven matches against nationally-ranked opponents.
Memphis advanced to the NCAA tournament last year without a senior on the roster. After finishing the year ranked 36th in the country, every player from last year's 15-9 squad is back this coming spring and the senior class of Lemke, Manji, Peniston and Watson is looking to advance past the NCAA first round for the first time in their respective careers in the spring of 2018.
Players Mentioned
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