Aug. 13, 2009

Romeoville, Ill. - Lewis University head men's and women's tennis coach Brett Bridel not only recruits players who can not only perform on the court, but in the classroom as well.

His recruiting efforts have paid dividends as both the Lewis men's and women's tennis teams were both named to the ITA All-Academic Teams. The Flyer women's squad came in with a 3.55 cumulative grade-point average, while the men's team owns a 3.37 cumulative GPA.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team GPA of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale).

"I am very proud of our players and their commitment to academic excellence," Bridel said. "They have a great desire to compete at the highest level on the tennis court, which requires a lot of their time and energy, but without sacrificing their commitment to the classroom."

The Lewis women's tennis team had five players earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, including Michelle Wright (Aurora, Ill./Rosary) (4.00), Jordan Lynde (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) (3.89), Katie Hargrove (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (3.76), Melanie Sandberg (Motala, Sweden/Platenskolan) (3.72) and Maggie Novack (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) (3.67). The men's side had three individuals named ITA Scholar-Athlete, including Lorenz Pestinger (Bad Homburg, Germany/Humboldtschule/Missouri Valley) (4.00), Bret Mega (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) (3.72) and Tonis Irdoja (Tallinn, Estonia/Rocca Al Mare Kool) (3.67).

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must have a GPA of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year.

Both the men's and women's squad open their 2009 Fall campaign on September 12th, as they travel to Waterloo, Iowa to participate in the Upper Iowa Challenge.

A Catholic University sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The mid-sized university is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.

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