Four from W. Tennis on All-ACC Academic Team
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Four members of the University of Miami women’s tennis team were named to the 2015 All-ACC Academic Team, as announced by the conference Wednesday morning.
Stephanie Wagner led the group as the ACC Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Lina Lileikite earned her fourth Academic Team honor. Monique Albuquerque and Wendy Zhang were the other selections from Miami, as the Hurricanes tied Clemson for the most players on the list.
“I haven’t seen too many tennis players who don’t excel academically, but this team takes it to another level,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “These ladies are studying at midnight on planes heading home from long weekends. Unless you have experienced it yourself it’s really hard to explain the level of discipline it takes to excel both athletically and academically in this environment.”
A junior from Amberg, Germany, Wagner reeled in numerous accolades this season, including ITA All-America honors, the ITA National Player to Watch award and First Team All-ACC recognition. Wagner, who reached the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship, finished the season ranked ninth in the nation in singles and No. 21 in doubles.
A member of the Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and Book Buster Club, Wagner has now been named to the All-ACC Academic Team in each of her three seasons at Miami. She is one of just four women’s tennis players in the conference to garner the honor for at least the third time this year.
A member of the Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and Book Buster Club, Wagner has now been named to the All-ACC Academic Team in each of her three seasons at Miami. An economics major, she is one of just four women’s tennis players in the conference to garner the honor for at least the third time this year.
“I tell these kids all the time that their education comes before anything else,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “What better way to wrap up the awards for Wagner–she is just such a stud.”
Lileikite, a native of Liepaja, Latvia, is the only person to receive a fourth All-ACC Academic Team honor in women’s tennis this year. Lileikite and Wagner, partners in the NCAA Doubles Championship, account for half of the conference’s three- or four-time selections.
A senior in 2015, the economics major was nationally ranked in singles and doubles all season long, concluding her final campaign at No. 112 in singles and No. 21 in doubles. Lileikite went a combined 18-4 in ACC play between singles and doubles.
Albuquerque was tabbed to the All-ACC Academic Team for the second straight year. The Porto Alegre, Brazil native was a member of Miami’s graduate school this year and walked at graduation in May. The lone graduate student among the honorees, Albuquerque will earn a Master of Science in International Business.
On the court, Albuquerque led Miami in doubles victories with 16 and finished the season ranked No. 58 in doubles with partner Clementina Riobueno. Albuquerque also went 17-4 in singles play in 2015, including a perfect 10-0 in the ACC.
Albuquerque is one of 10 multiple-time honorees on the 2015 All-ACC Academic Team and Miami is the only school with three members of that group.
Zhang, who has yet to declare a major, is one of just six freshmen among the 30 players on the All-ACC Academic Team this season. Of those six, she is one of only two who finished the season ranked by the ITA, as she wrapped up the 2015 campaign at No. 101 in singles.
Additionally, Zhang, from Richmond, B.C., went 10-3 in singles matches in her opening season and also posted a 14-6 mark in doubles. She was ranked nationally in two separate doubles pairs this season and her 9-2 record in ACC doubles matches was one of the two best on the team.
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