Titans Receive ITA Academic Awards
Four members of the UW-Oshkosh women's tennis team were recognized for their performance in the classroom by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). As a team, the Titans also were placed on the ITA All-Academic Team.
Named an ITA Scholar-Athlete for the 2019-20 academic year were UW-Oshkosh's Samantha Koppa, Taylor Johnson, Alyssa Leffler and Michelle Spicer. Koppa also received ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition following the 2016-17 and 2018-19 academic years. Johnson and Leffler are two-time award winners. This is Spicer's first ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition.
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete mention, a player must be a varsity letter winner, register a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) during the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, the team must a team GPA of 3.2 or above (on a 4.00 scale) over the 2019-20 academic year and must include all student-athletes on the institution's eligibility form. UW-Oshkosh achieved a 3.215 GPA.
Koppa compiled a 4.00 GPA as a senior elementary education major. Last fall, Koppa finished second at No. 2 singles during the WIAC championship with a 2-1 record. The second-seeded Koppa defeated seventh-seeded UW-Stevens Point, 6-1, 6-0, and third-seeded UW-Stout, 6-3, 6-2, before losing her title match by a 6-4, 6-1 result to fourth-seeded UW-La Crosse. Koppa became the first UW-Oshkosh player to advance to an individual final since Emily Bostwick placed second at No. 1 singles in 2011.
In doubles play, Koppa and partner Kelley Hodyl worked together for a second-place finish in the first flight. The fourth-seeded Titan duo outscored fourth-seeded UW-Stout, 8-6, and top-seeded UW-Whitewater, 8-6, before losing their title contest by an 8-2 verdict to third-seeded UW-Eau Claire. Koppa and Hodyl became the first UW-Oshkosh tandem to play for the No. 1 doubles title since Debra Ashenbrenner and Mercedes Blanch finished second in 2002
Johnson is a sophomore nursing major who registered a 3.560 GPA this past academic year. She ended the 2019-202 season with records of 8-6 in singles play and 9-11 in doubles action.
Leffler, a senior, tallied a 3.970 GPA as a major in marketing and an emphasis in sales and web presence management. She finished fourth in No. 1 singles at the WIAC Championship while ending the 2019-20 season with records of 10-9 in singles play and 10-8 in doubles competition.
Spicer is a rehabilitation science major who assembled a 3.536 GPA. She concluded the 2019-20 season with records of 8-9 in singles play and 10-9 in doubles action.
UW-Oshkosh's four award winners were among 1058 tennis players recognized from NCAA Division III schools.
2019-20 ITA All-Academic Team & Scholar-Athlete Award Winners