Scots' Tennis Program Earns Record Number of Prestigious National Academic Awards
Monmouth, IL (08/17/2020) — Six women and four men helped the Monmouth College tennis program account for a dozen national academic awards from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for the 2019-20 season.
The men's and women's teams picked up the ITA's All-Academic team honors after each surpassed the cumulative team grade point average requirement of 3.20. It was the women's fourth team honor for academic excellence since the 2015-16 season and the men's third since the 2016-17 campaign. It marks the third time in program history the men and women have earned the team honor in the same academic year.
Senior Rachael Leifheit (DeKalb, IL/Glenbard East), juniors Alison Bowman (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg) and Emma Johanns (Burlington, IA) and freshmen Emily Henson (Geneseo, IL/Geneseo), Emily Laughlin (Milan, IL/Rock Island) and Ditza Montesinos (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) were joined as ITA Scholar-Athletes by senior Alex Martin (Glenview, IL/Glenbrook South), junior Joseph Shie (Davenport, IA/Central), sophomore Andrew Shie (Davenport, IA/Central) and freshman Omar Godinez (Tlaquepaque, Mexico).
The ITA awards scholar-athlete status to players who have earned varsity letters and meet the qualifying criteria of a minimum 3.5 GPA for the year on a 4.0 scale and have attended their school for at least two semesters.
Leifheit, who earned her first ITA honor, graduated in May with a degree in kinesiology. Playing primarily at No. 3 singles last season, Leifheit posted a 7-5 record in her final campaign and earned her first academic all-conference award from the Midwest Conference. She is the daughter of Lori Leifheit.
Bowman, another first-time ITA honoree, is a biopsychology major. Playing at No. 2 doubles, she rolled to an 8-2 record while also earning her first academic all-conference award from the MWC. She is the daughter of David and Amy Bowman.
Johanns, who earned her second academic award from the ITA, held down the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles. A neuroscience and biology major, she is the daughter of Thomas and Andrea Johanns.
Henson majors in business and was also named academic all-conference. She took the court at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles and is the daughter of Brian and Kathrynne Henson.
Laughlin is majoring in educational studies and was named academic all-conference. She played the majority of the season at No. 4 singles, where she posted a 6-4 record. She is the daughter of Mike and Lisa Laughlin.
A business major who also earned academic all-conference status, Montesinos saw action at No. 6 singles. She is the daughter of Victor and Rocio Montesinos.
Martin, an academic all-conference honoree who graduated in May with a degree in business, earned his second straight ITA academic award. The son of Scott and Linda Martin, he played at No. four singles and No. 6 doubles.
A biochemistry major and three-time academic all-conference selection, Joseph Shie earned his third ITA honor in as many seasons. He was unbeaten through the season's six matches at No. 1 singles and posted a 4-2 record at No. 1 doubles.
Andrew Shie, a business major and two-time academic all-conference honoree, claimed his second straight award from the ITA. Shie played at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles, where he went 4-2 in each before the season was cut short. He and his brother Joseph are the sons of Thomas and Dianna Shie.
Godinez, who majors in computer science, was scheduled to take the court following spring break before the COVID-19 pandemic forced collegiate sports to cancel the season.
Monmouth has earned 22 ITA scholar-athlete awards and four team awards in the last three seasons.
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