Nine named ITA Scholar-Athlete, Women’s Tennis Earns All-Academic Team Honors
7/14/2026 12:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis
FULL ITA RELEASE
Fairfield, Conn. – Combining excellence on the court and in the classroom, nine Sacred Heart University women's tennis players were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as Scholar-Athletes, while leading the Pioneers to an All-Academic Team honor.
All combined, the Pioneers closed out the 2025-26 academic year with a cumulative GPA of 3.74 earning the ITA's Team All-Academic award for the 15th straight year and the 24th time out of the last 25 years.
To be honored individually as a Scholar-Athlete, a student-athlete must have completed the current academic year with a grade point average of 3.5 or better and be listed on the institutional eligibility form.
Of the nine Pioneers to earn Scholar-Athlete honors, three earned the honor for the third straight year, Olivia Furrows and Malena Del Olmo. Additionally, three more earned the distinction for a second-straight season, Nicolina Giannola, Kailin Gochna and Olivia Zuba. Rounding out the Scholar-Athlete accolades were sophomores Ola Irla Bartyzel and Kiah James and a pair of first year's Ava Nelson and Brooke Tuffs.
Sacred Heart closed out the 2025-26 campaign with a 10-10 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in the Metro Conference, finishing in a three-way tie for third place. The Pioneers advanced to the Metro Conference Championship as the third seed where they fell to Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals.
