TEMPE, Ariz. – Both the North Carolina Central men's and women's tennis programs have been recognized as Division I All-Academic Teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and seven student-athletes were named Division I Scholar Athletes, the association announced on July 11.
 
Amit Baran, Shaka Cristellotti, and Oliver Saarinen represent the men's tennis program as Scholar Athletes, and Isabelle Exsted, Hannah Gaines, Kennedy Hill, and Maria Picazo are listed as Scholar Athletes from the women's program.
 
Baran and Gaines have now been recognized four times in their academic careers, while Picazo was selected for her second time.
 
To be named a Scholar Athlete, a GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale must be achieved during the academic year; and to earn distinction as an All-Academic Team, a cumulative GPA of 3.2 must be achieved.
 
This is now the seventh consecutive time the men's tennis team has earned the distinction as an All-Academic Team, and the fifth consecutive selection for the women's tennis program, which is also the sixth time in the last seven years.
 
In 2022, 933 Division I men's student-athletes were named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and 163 men's tennis programs were awarded the All-Academic Team distinction.