AUSTIN, Texas --- Four Tusculum University student-athletes have been named to the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Academic All-District® 3 team as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
Earning Academic All-District honors for the Pioneers are Rhodri Atkinson, Frank Bonacia, Marco Jalalian and Nemanja Subanovic.
The 2023 Academic All-District® men's tennis team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. All four advance to the Academic All-America® ballot with the winners being announced at the end of this month.
District 3 is comprised of colleges and universities representing the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher, must be at least a sophomore and played in 50 percent of their team's games.
Atkinson has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average during his graduate studies while earning a master's in business administration. The Lenoir-Rhyne University transfer earned his undergraduate degree with the Bears and posted a 3.62 GPA in business administration. He is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List and is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
The Longhope, England native posted an 18-10 overall singles record this past season including 7-4 in league play while earning All-Conference first team honors. He also went 17-9 in doubles place including 9-3 in SAC action. The 2021 SAC Player of the Year has earned All-SAC honors on four occasions throughout his collegiate career while posting a 65-24 worksheet in singles and 70-22 in doubles play. In 2022, he was named the SAC Men's Tennis Scholar Athlete of Year and was a three-time ITA All-Academic Team selection.
Bonacia, a native of Rome, Italy, finished his undergraduate career with a 3.52 GPA in business administration and is working on his graduate degree in the same field. The four-time ITA All-Academic Team representative is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.
This past spring, he went 11-4 in singles including a perfect 7-0 in SAC matches. He was went 11-4 in doubles with a 6-1 league record. The three-time All-SAC singles performer has a 59-23 career record including 26-7 in conference action. He also garnered All-SAC doubles laurels twice as he went 46-28 overall and 27-6 in SAC contests.
Jalalian, a sophomore from Hannover, Germany, has a 3.81 GPA while majoring in business administration. He is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.
He earned All-SAC first team honors in doubles while going 17-10 overall and 9-2 in league play. He also went 6-4 in singles and was victorious in his two SAC bouts. In his two seasons with the Pioneers, he has amassed a 10-8 singles mark (7-3 SAC) and 21-13 in doubles action. He was named to the 2022 ITA All-Academic Team.
Subanovic, a junior from Subotica, Serbia, has a 3.93 GPA while majoring in sport management. He is a member of the Tusculum President's List, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.
He earned All-SAC first team honors with doubles partner Marco Jalalian as the duo went 13-8 at the top-flight including 8-2 in league matches. He also 14-11 in singles play, mostly at the No. 2 flight. He has earned All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles play where he has record 38 career singles victories.
The Pioneers posted a 17-7 record this past season while finishing runner-up in both the SAC regular season and postseason tournament. Tusculum also garnered an at-large berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The 2023 Academic All-District® Men's Tennis Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's tennis honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA national office.
