Bronco Men's Tennis Earns ITA Honors

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's tennis team added a final accolade to their already ample collection for the 2011-12 season, as the Broncos were named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team award winner for the ninth straight season. In addition, the Broncos placed five players on the ITA All-Academic team as individuals, the most that have been honored since 2008 and more than twice as many as any other Mid-American Conference program.

Graduated senior Pablo Olivarez, rising seniors Simon Blomberg, Ross VanderPloeg, and Aaron Wong, and rising junior Nadin Indre all earned individual honors. The individual awards are given to players who have completed at least two semesters at their academic institution while maintaining at least a 3.50 GPA for the academic year. Olivarez finished his career at Western Michigan by earning the ITA All-Academic Award in three of his four seasons as a Bronco.

The number of individual Broncos honored is important for another reason, in that it represents a substantial leg-up on the rest of the MAC. In fact, the Broncos placed more athletes on the team (five) than the other five teams in the MAC combined (three).

The Broncos also earned the Team Academic award in 2012, given to teams that maintain a 3.20 GPA over the course of the full season. It is the ninth consecutive season in which the Broncos have won the team award and 14th time in the last 15 years. The Broncos are the only MAC school represented on the list.