ST. LOUIS – After making a run to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship match, the Missouri State's women's tennis team garnered four scholar-athlete selections, the league announced Tuesday.
Landing on the first team was Ellie Burger and Alyson Piskulic, while Mara Presot and Claire Martin garnered honorable mention honors.
Burger went 12-6 this spring in singles play while competing primarily at the No. 2 position. In doubles play, she paired with Martin in the No. 1 flight while going 5-9 this season. Burger finished her storied career with a 43-18 record. Her .705 winning percentage ranks third in program history. Burger was one of four players selected to the first team in 2020 and has a 3.86 GPA while majoring in General Business.
Piskulic led the Bears in doubles wins with a 12-7 record, competing in the No. 1 and 2 doubles positions with Hana Sisirak. She went 15-11 in singles play while competing primarily at the No. 4 and 5 flights. Piskulic sent the Bears to the MVC Championship match this season with a win over Stony Brook's Loreta Rubio (7-5, 6-3) in the MVC Semifinals. She was one of just four players to have a perfect 4.0 GPA. Piskulic is majoring in Molecular Biology.
Martin led Missouri State in singles wins this season with 17 as she posted a 17-11 mark at the No. 6 flight. In doubles play, she competed at the No. 1 spot with Ellie Burger, where they posted a 5-9 record. The selection was Martin's second MVC Scholar-Athlete honor as she garnered honorable mention honors in 2020. She is majoring in Marketing Research and holds a 3.86 GPA.
Presot was a mainstay in the Bears doubles lineup, going 9-4 while playing at the No. 3 position with Mary Houston. She went 1-0 in singles play this season as she defeated Svaksha Iyengar of UT Dallas, 6-3, 6-2. Presot joined Piskulic as one of the four players selected to have a 4.0 GPA. She is majoring in Hospitality Leadership.
Twenty-six student-athletes were nominated for the Valley's scholar-athlete team. The criterion for the honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must have participated in at least 75% of the regular-season matches or be projected to play in the MVC Championship, with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore status in both athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and first-year transfers were not eligible).
The scholar-athlete teams are decided by a vote of the league's women's tennis sports information directors, with approval from head coaches.
For all the latest information on the Missouri State women's tennis team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @msubearstennis on Twitter.
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