Liberty Sports 8 ITA Scholar-Athletes and Receives 2022 All-Academic Team Honor
7/12/2022 11:36:10 AM | Women's Tennis
2022 Division I Women’s ITA Scholar-Athletes and All-Academic Teams
The Liberty women’s tennis team featured eight 2022 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete recipients and received the honor of ITA All-Academic Team for its efforts in the classroom during the 2021-22 school year.
The ITA Scholar-Athlete recipients include: freshman Maretha Burger, freshman Elsa Kirch, sophomore Esther Lovato, sophomore Micaela Ode Mitre, sophomore Tiffany Nguyen, freshman Willa Rogers, freshman Bruna Sampaio and sophomore Eloise Saraty. The ITA Scholar-Athlete award is handed out to student-athletes who are varsity letter winners, have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or above for the current school year and have been enrolled at their current institution for at least two semesters.
The ITA All-Academic Team award honors programs which maintained a team GPA of 3.20 or above during the 2021-22 school year. This is the 10th consecutive year Liberty has been tabbed an ITA All-Academic Team. The Lady Flames posted a 3.71 GPA this past academic year, best among all Liberty teams, and are maintaining a 3.60 cumulative team GPA.
Maretha Burger | Freshman | Ashton, South Africa
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.93
• Major: Undecided
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Collected 14 doubles wins on the year, nine in the fall and five in the spring
• Won nine total singles matches on the season, eight in the fall and one in the spring
Elsa Kirch | Freshman | Garner, N.C.
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Won eight doubles matches, five in the fall and three in the spring
• Claimed three singles matches on the year (two fall, one spring)
Esther Lovato | Sophomore (Third Year) | Austin, Texas
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Sport Management
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2020-22)
• Three ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2020-22
• ASUN All-Conference first team (2022), ASUN All-Conference second team (2021)
• Three-time VaSID All-State singles second team (2020-22), first three-time all-state player in program history
• Finished second on squad with 27 singles wins during 2021-22 season, the third most of any player in program history
• Ended year with 68-12 career singles mark through three seasons for a .850 winning percentage (second best in school history)
Micaela Ode Mitre | Sophomore (Third Year) | Lima, Peru
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.80
• Major: Business Administration
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2020-22)
• Three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2020-22)
• ASUN All-Academic team (2022)
• Posted 12-4 spring singles mark, including 6-1 ASUN record, and was 18-10 overall in singles between fall and spring play
• Won 19 doubles matches on the year, tied for second most on squad
Tiffany Nguyen | Sophomore (Third Year) | Thu Dau Mot, Vietnam
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.50
• Major: Global Studies
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Two-time ASUN All-Conference second team (2021-22)
• VaSID All-State singles second team (2022)
• ASUN All-Freshman team (2021) and ASUN Player of the Week (Feb. 17, 2021)
• Posted 14-3 spring singles record and was 5-2 in ASUN play, was 19-6 overall in singles during 2021-22 season
• Led the team with 21 total doubles victories, held a 16-7 mark in spring doubles contests
Willa Rogers | Freshman | Kingsport, Tenn.
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Accounting
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Totaled 13 doubles victories (13-10 record), eight in the spring and five in the fall
• Tallied seven singles victories during first season, four in the spring and three in the fall
Bruna Sampaio | Freshman | Brasilia, Brazil
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Sport Management: Sport Communication and Public Relations
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Collected six total doubles wins (three spring, three fall) in first season
• Earned one singles victory on the year
Eloise Saraty | Sophomore (Third Year) | London, England
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.82
• Major: Sport Management
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• Three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2020-22)
• VaSID All-State doubles second team (2021)
• Won 14 doubles matches on the season (nine spring, five fall), posted 7-3 mark with Willa Rogers as her partner
• Claimed 11 total singles contests (six spring, five fall)