Four Bearcats Receive ITA Scholar-Athlete Honors in Men's Tennis

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Four Willamette University men's tennis players have qualified for the the 2010-11 Scholar-Athlete list for NCAA Division III as released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Overall a total of 333 men's tennis players in Division III received ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Players earning ITA Scholar-Athlete status were required to achieve at least a 3.5 grade point average (4.0 scale) during the 2010-11 academic year. They also had to be letterwinners on their respective teams and had to attend their current colleges or universities for at least one full academic year by the end of the season

WU athletes who qualified as ITA Scholar-Athletes were Will Agnew-Svoboda (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS), Michael Baumgartner (So., Albany, OR/West Albany HS), Joshua Wong (So., Hilo, HI/Hilo HS) and Brendan Zhang (Fr., Eugene, OR/South Eugene HS). Agnew-Svoboda is majoring in Biology and Mathematics, Wong is majoring in Biology, and Zhang is majoring in Chemistry. Baumgartner is undecided regarding his major.

Baumgartner, who played mostly #1 singles and #1 doubles, was ranked as high as #28 in singles in the West Region of NCAA Division III before falling out of the rankings late in the year. He was 10-9 in singles this spring, including 8-4 in the Northwest Conference. He earned First Team All-NWC honors for the second year in a row. He was 10-10 in doubles, including 9-3 in the NWC.

Wong also received First Team All-NWC recognition for the second consecutive season. He achieved an 11-5 singles record during the spring, including an impressive 9-1 record in the NWC.

Head Coach Toby Krauel completed his third season at Willamette in 2010-11. He guided the Bearcats to a 13-6 overall record this spring, while leading the team to a #10 ranking in the West Region of NCAA Division III. Willamette was 11-1 in the NWC (2nd place) and claimed second place in the NWC Tournament.