11 Cal Poly Tennis Players Earn ITA Scholar-Athlete Praise
7/22/2024 3:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Student-athletes on the Cal Poly tennis teams pride themselves on excelling at a high level in the classroom and on the court so it’s no surprise that 11 total players, six members of the Mustang women’s team and five from the men’s squad, were named 2024 ITA Scholar-Athletes on Monday. In addition, both the men’s and women’s programs received ITA All-Academic Team recognition.
The 2024 Big West champion Cal Poly women’s tennis team was awarded ITA All-Academic Team honors for the ninth straight year, while it marks the sixth consecutive year the men’s team has garnered the praise.
For programs to receive the ITA All-Academic Team Award, a team must have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher for the academic year. To earn ITA Scholar-Athlete honors, a student-athlete had to achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the 2023-24 academic year.
The six players on the Cal Poly women’s team that secured ITA Scholar-Athlete status — tying a program record — were Kennedy Buntrock, Delanie Dunkle, Peyton Dunkle, Melissa LaMette, Sarah MacCallum and Alexandra Ozerets. Five of the six players also earned Big West All-Academic recognition earlier this month.
For Delanie and LaMette this is their fourth time garnering ITA Scholar-Athlete praise, while this is the second straight year Buntrock, MacCallum and Ozerets have received the honor. This is the first time Peyton earned the award.
Delanie and LaMette now join 2023 grad Kim Bhunu as the only players in the history of the women’s tennis program to secure ITA Scholar-Athlete honors four times.
For the men, the five players named ITA Scholar-Athletes were Sean Ferguson, Fernando Fonseca, Sean Kamyshev, Joe Leather and Colter Smith. Fonseca, Leather and Smith were also selected to the Big West All-Academic Team.
This marks the fifth time Fonseca has received the praise, the fourth time for Smith and the third time for Leather. This is the first time Ferguson and Kamyshev, both freshmen, have earned an ITA Scholar-Athlete selection.
