Aug. 22, 2008

SKILLMAN, N.J. -- The Navy tennis program and several of its individual players garnered academic awards from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for their efforts in the classroom during the 2007-08 academic year.

The team was one of 41 men's Division I programs across the country that were honored as an ITA All-Academic Team. To earn the accolade, the combined grade-point average for all letter winners on the squad must have been at least 3.20 for the entire 2007-08 academic year. The letter winners for the Mids, who won their second consecutive Patriot League title this past spring, accrued a 3.35 GPA last year.

Navy's Jason Hill (Sr., Marietta, Ga.), Nick Birger (So., Belleville, Ill.) and 2008 team captain Alex James (Visalia, Calif.) also were named as 2007-08 ITA Scholar Athletes. Individual players must have both earned a varsity letter and totaled a minimum 3.50 GPA for the overall 2007-08 academic year to receive the laurel. Hill and Birger both recorded 4.00 GPA's last year, while James produced a 3.69 GPA over the two semesters.

A total of 265 men's Division I individuals were designated as ITA Scholar Athletes last year.