The Toledo women’s tennis team earned its third-straight ITA All-Academic Team honor with a 3.72 grade point average, as recently announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. In addition, all six starting Rockets — Cassie Alcala, Julia Kuszynski, Mariona Perez, Sanjana Tallamraju, Shalini Tallamraju and Sloane Teske — earned ITA Scholar-Athlete status for their academic accomplishments during the 2022-23 season.
Alcala, Kuszynski, and Shalini Tallamraju earned their third ITA academic honor of their career at Toledo which finished the 2022-23 season as the No. 7-ranked team in the Midwest Region. Teske and Sanjana Tallamraju were honored for a second and first time, respectively.
The Toledo women’s tennis team.
Alcala, who was named MAC Player of the Year for the second-straight season, is working towards a degree in human resource management with a 3.95 GPA. She finished the season with a 19-5 singles record and went 8-2 against MAC opponents from the No. 1 court. She started the season on a 14-match winning streak and clinched match point on five occasions. Alcala is also a CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-MAC honoree, while her No.16 ranking in the Midwest Region is the highest ever by a Rocket.
Kuszynski is pursuing a degree in exercise science and earned a team-best 4.0 GPA this year. She was also an Academic All-MAC and CSC Academic All-District honoree this season. Kuszynski posted a 12-9 singles record mostly from the No. 6 court and was 7-3 in conference play. She had a 14-7 doubles record from the No. 2 court. Kuszynski clinched match point three times this season, including a 6-1 win vs. No.70 FGCU on March 8.
Perez graduated in May with a master’s degree in economics with a 3.64 GPA and was one of four Rockets to CSC Academic All-District honors. In her one season at UToledo, Perez compiled a 22-5 singles record and went 6-2 against MAC opponents from the No. 3 court. She notched a 14-12 (3-2 MAC) mark in doubles play from the No. 1 court.
Sanjana Tallamraju finished her first year as a business major with a 3.75 GPA. Tallamraju compiled a singles record of 17-6 from the No. 5 court, with an 8-2 record against conference opponents, and a 14-7 (7-2 MAC) doubles record from the No. 2 court.
Shalini Tallamraju is a second-team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament Team honoree. A biology major with a 3.96 GPA, she led UT with a team-best 20-3 record mostly from the No. 3 court, was 10-0 against MAC opponents. The No. 20-ranked singles player in the Midwest Region ended the season on a 12-match winning streak. Academically, Tallamraju also received Academic All-MAC and CSC Academic All-District distinctions.
Teske has a 3.53 GPA and is working towards a degree in adolescent and young adult education. The three-time all-MAC honoree opened the season on an 11-match winning streak from the No. 2 court (April 24, 2022-Feb. 11, 2023). She earned a 24-8 record this season with an 8-2 record. In doubles play, Teske was the No. 1 team with Perez and compiled a 16-12 record.
For an individual to earn Scholar-Athlete status, she must have a GPA of at least 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the current academic year and be listed on the institution eligibility form. For a team to earn All-Academic honors, the program must have a 3.2 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale, have all student-athletes listed on the institution eligibility form, and all varsity letterwinners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year.
