TEMPE, Ariz. (July 18, 2019) – Wyoming tennis players Jieyi Chen, Mihaela Kaftanova, Elisa Koonik, Ida Krause, Ana Royo, Tessa van Der Ploeg were each named Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athletes for their work in the classroom, while the Wyoming team was named an All-Academic Team. The awards were announced by the ITA on Thursday. In all, 735 teams and 4,328 athletes were recognized.
 
Van Der Ploeg, Krause, Kaftanova, Koonik and Royo were each named to the Academic All-Mountain West Team earlier this week, while Krause, Kaftanova, Koonik and Royo also were honored as MW Scholar Athletes. Royo finished her junior season with a 4.0 grade point average in molecular biology. As a team, the Cowgirls recorded a 3.662 team GPA.
 
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) be a varsity letter winner, 2.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman through senior year).
 
The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All varsity letter winners were factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2017 and spring 2018).     
 
On the court, the Pokes completed the season with an overall record of 14-8 overall mark and 3-2 in MW play. For the tenth straight year the program finished with double-digit victories. Already the winningest coach in school history, head coach Dean Clower earned his 100th career win with a victory against Northern Arizona on March, 3, 2019. Two individuals earned All-MW honors and it's the eighth time under Clowers' guidance.