Five Zips Earn Academic All-MAC Honors

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CLEVELAND – Five Akron Zips were among the Mid-American Conference's 31 women's tennis players honored as 2019 Academic All-MAC selections on Tuesday.

Earning the honor for the third time were seniors Luisa Echeverry (Cali, Colombia) and Sophia Geier (Burgebrach, Germany). Junior Rita Pedroso (Porto, Portugal) was honored for the second time, while senior Carla Flores (Coahuila, Mexico) and sophomore Anna Uljanov (Schweinfurt, Germany) were first-time recipients.

"I'm extremely proud of these young women for their outstanding academic achievements," said Akron head coach Brandon Padgett. "Our entire team puts a great deal of effort into their academics, and it is wonderful to see so many of them honored by the conference."

Echeverry, a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete and Dean's List student, helped Akron to 21 wins on the season, the most of any MAC team. She went 13-12 in singles action this spring, playing mainly at No. 5. Echeverry, who opened season with six consecutive singles victories, played No. 3 doubles with various partners. She has a 3.634 grade-point average (GPA) in mechanical engineering.

Geier, a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete and Dean's List student, was a three-year team captain. She was named the MAC Player of the Year twice (2017, 2019). A 2019 first-team All-MAC, Geier was named to the 2019 MAC All-Tournament Team. She went undefeated against all MAC opponents at the No. 1 spot (7-0 in regular season and 2-0 in MAC tourney play). Geier went 29-4 in singles action, including 21-1 in spring action, all at No. 1. Named MAC Singles Player of the Week three times this spring, she paired with Uljanov at No. 2 doubles where the duo went 16-7 overall. The pair earned MAC Doubles Team of the Week twice this spring. Geier finished collegiate career ranked No. 2 on Akron's all-time list for singles wins (106) and combined wins (177) and No. 11 in doubles wins (71). She named team's Most Valuable Player. Geier, who earned a bachelor's degree in sport management in 2018, is pursuing an M.B.A. and has a 3.940 GPA.

Pedroso, a two-time ITA Scholar Athlete and Dean's List student, was a team captain. She went 22-11 in singles action, playing mostly at No. 4-5. Pedroso paired with sophomore Miruna Vasilescu at No. 1 doubles. They finished at 24-8 overall, including 19-6 in spring action. Pedroso, who shared team's Most Improved Player award, has a 3.783 GPA in international business.

Flores, a Dean's List student, went 5-2 in singles action, playing No. 5-6. She played No. 3 doubles with several partners. Flores has a 3.305 GP in interior design.

Uljanov, an ITA Scholar-Athlete and Dean's List student, was a second-team All-MAC selection for the second consecutive season in 2019. She finished singles action at 23-10 overall and 19-5 in the spring, playing the No. 2-3 sports. Teamed with Geier at No. 2 doubles, the pair went 16-7 overall and earned MAC Doubles Team of the Week twice this spring. Uljanov was named to the 2019 MAC All-Tournament Team. The recipient of the team's Coaches' Award, Uljanov sports a 3.673 GPA in sport studies.

As a whole, the women's tennis team earned the Jim Schonover Award at the Zippy Awards Banquet last month for sporting the highest team GPA for Fall 2018 with a 3.52.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.

The Academic All-MAC honorees are now under consideration for Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors.

WOMEN'S TENNIS
Akron's 2019 Academic All-MAC Selections
Luisa Echeverry    Sr.          3.634 Mechanical Engineering      Cali, Colombia
Carla Flores           Sr.          3.305 Interior Design Coahuila, Mexico
Sophia Geier         R-Sr.      3.940 M.B.A.                                  Burgebrach, Germany
Rita Pedroso         Jr.           3.783 International Business         Porto, Portugal
Anna Uljanov         So.         3.673 Sport Studies Schweinfurt, Germany

The University of Akron Athletics

Players Mentioned

Luisa Echeverry

Carla Flores

Sophia Geier

Rita Pedroso

Anna Uljanov

Miruna Vasilescu

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