Men's Tennis Earns National Academic Distinction
With an overall team grade point average of 3.71 during the spring semester, the Ventura College men's tennis team is one of eight programs nationally, and the only squad in California, to be honored as an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Additionally, the Pirates have eight individuals who have been named ITA Scholar Athletes. Only 11 men's tennis student athletes from California were honored by the national coaches' association.
With an overall team grade point average of 3.71 during the spring semester, the Ventura College men's tennis team is one of eight programs nationally, and the only squad in California, to be honored as an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Additionally, the Pirates have eight individuals who have been named ITA Scholar Athletes. Only 11 men's tennis student athletes from California were honored by the national coaches' association.
Lucas Abreu, Jared Gillespie, Phil Jabin, Valentino Oggero, Robinson Pelluault, Santino Serralonga, Jinsei Tajima and Julian Tellez were all named ITA Scholar Athletes, achieving a GPA of 3.5 or better.
"Academia is an integral aspect of the college tennis experience and adds to the unique student-athlete experience found on college campuses across the nation," the ITA said in a press release.
"Within the sport of tennis, student-athletes continue to exceed expectations in the classroom and on the court. In 2023, 53 JUCO Men's student-athletes were named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, and eight men's tennis programs were awarded the All-Academic Team distinction."
To be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, one must meet the following requirements:
- have a grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year
- be listed on the institutional eligibility form
To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, programs must meet the following requirements:
- have a team grade point average of 3.2 or above (on a 4.00 scale),
- all student-athletes included should be listed on the institutional eligibility form, and
- all varsity letter winners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year
The Pirates completed another banner campaign in 2023, capturing the program's 15th Western State Conference championship in the past 18 seasons under head coach Nelson Emery, the team's 22nd conference title overall. VC posted an overall record of 15-1 with their lone setback coming in the Southern California Regional Finals, the programs 11th State Final Four since 2002.