SKILLMAN, N.J. --- The Tusculum University women's tennis team is one of 93 colleges and universities in NCAA Division II to be recognized to the 2017-2018 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team. The Pioneers also had six of their team members earn ITA Scholar Athlete distinction including: Brittani Brooks, Angelica De Vincenzis, Franziska Funke, Katarina Majorova, Annie McCullough and Caitlin McCullough.
The ITA All-Academic Team Award is presented to any ITA program that has above a 3.2 cumulative grade point average. ITA Scholar Athletes are student-athletes who are a varsity letter-winner, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the current academic year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
The Pioneers recorded a 3.62 GPA for 2017-2018 and 3.622 cumulative GPA overall, which is the best of Tusculum's sponsored sports. TU was one of six South Atlantic Conference women's tennis programs to earn ITA All-Academic Team distinction this year. This marks Tusculum's seventh consecutive ITA All-Academic Team Award and 12th time in the last 15 seasons.
The TU men's tennis team also earned ITA All-Academic Team honors, making Tusculum one of only 50 DII colleges and universities to earn this award for both the men and women's programs.
Brooks, a sophomore from Allen, Texas, boasts a 3.78 cumulative grade point average while majoring in psychology. She had an outstanding year in the classroom where she tallied a 3.95 GPA for the fall and spring semester combined. Brooks earns ITA Scholar Athlete honors for a second straight year and was perfect with a 5-0 singles record including 1-0 in SAC play. She improves her career mark to 16-9. She also went 4-1 in doubles competition.
DeVincenzis, a freshman from Montevelluna, Italy, posted a perfect 4.00 GPA this past season. She went 14-3 in singles including 7-2 in conference play. She also went 2-0 in doubles action.
Funke returns to the ITA Scholar Athlete Team for a fourth straight year. She graduated from Tusculum earlier in May with a degree in management and economics. She finished with an impressive 3.99 cumulative grade point average including a 4.00 GPA during her senior campaign. Funke earned recognition to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and was a member of the Alpha Chi Academic Honor Society.
She was a three-time Google Cloud Academic All-America® selection including a first team pick this spring. The Bochum, Germany native was honored with the SAC Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. She finished as Tusculum's career leader in singles victories with 69 (69-15), went 12-4 overall, and had an 8-2 record in SAC singles matches during the 2018 season. For her efforts she was named the recipient of the ITA Southeast Region Most Improved Senior Award.
Funke was nationally-ranked in singles for most of the 2018 season, reaching as high as 31st in the Oracle/ITA Division II national singles rankings. A three-time All-SAC first team doubles selection in her career, Funke finished with a career record of 74-18 in doubles for the Pioneers, including an 18-1 mark as a freshman and 21 victories as a junior. She had a 28-3 record at No. 2 doubles for the Pioneers, and a 42-13 mark at top-flight doubles.
In doubles, Funke teamed with Majorova for an 18-3 record this season, including a 15-2 mark at the No. 2 position in the Tusculum lineup. Funke and Majorova had a 9-1 record in conference doubles matches and were named first-team All-SAC for the second straight year as a duo.
Majorova, a sophomore from Martin, Slovakia, has a 3.97 cumulative GPA including 3.95 this year with a double major in management and accounting. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, President's List, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. She was also named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team.
She is a two-time All-SAC first team selection in both singles and doubles and played at the top-flight in singles during her two seasons with the Pioneers. This past year, she went 16-3 at No. 1 singles, including 7-2 in SAC competition. She opened the campaign with wins in her first 12 singles matches and went 4-1 in her final five. Majorova, the 2017 SAC Freshman of the Year, owns a 31-10 career singles record, which includes 15-4 conference worksheet. The duo of Majorova and Funke also posted a 39-10 overall record in doubles including 19-2 in SAC matches over the past two years.
Annie McCullough, a sophomore from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has a 3.97 cumulative and GPA, which was also her GPA for the academic year while majoring in chemistry. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
Annie McCullough earned All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles and finished with a 16-0 record in singles including undefeated in league play (10-0). She went 18-5 in doubles with her twin sister Caitlin, including 8-2 in in league play as the duo finished 32nd in NCAA II. The McCulloughs were 15-4 at No. 1 doubles and had a 3-1 record at No. 2 doubles with four of their five losses coming against doubles teams also ranked in the final ITA top-50. Annie, a two-time All-SAC selection, has a 36-4 career singles record 39-15 in doubles play. She was named to the Google Cloud All-Academic Team this year and is a two-time ITA Scholar Athlete.
Caitlin McCullough has tallied a 3.90 cumulative GPA, including 3.81 this year while majoring in business. She went 15-2 in singles for the Pioneers in her first season with the program after transferring from Northeastern State, where she was first-team All-MIAA as a freshman following a 20-5 season. Caitlnn, also a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, went 9-1 in SAC matches for the Pioneers, and her only two losses came in match tiebreakers while earning All-SAC second team honors in singles and first team distinction in doubles. She earns ITA Scholar Athlete honors for a second straight year, including last season at Northeastern State.
Tusculum finished with an overall record of 21-3 and in second place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 9-1 league record. The Pioneers advanced to the SAC semifinal round and were selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship for the second straight year and 10th time in program history. Tusculum defeated Queens 5-2 in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional before being eliminated by national semifinalist Columbus State in the second round.
