BASEBALL, MEN'S TENNIS HONORED FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

PROGRAMS REPEAT AS ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS

@MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Two Middle Tennessee sports teams captured their respective Sport Academic Award as announced by C-USA Tuesday morning.

Middle Tennessee's baseball team and men's tennis team each repeated as Sport Academic Award winners for the 2015-16 year.  The Sport Academic Award is given to the team in each conference-sponsored sport with the highest grade point average (GPA) for the academic year.

Baseball produced a 3.329 GPA for the academic year and repeated as Sport Academic Award winners under Head Coach Jim McGuire.

"I am proud of our student-athletes and the effort they put into their academics," McGuire said. "We put a strong emphasis on the academic side of things. We have some exceptional student-athletes and they all should be proud of their contributions in the classroom as this is a team award and takes the GPA of every player into consideration.

"To win this Sport Academic Award in C-USA where there are so many exceptional programs, academically and athletically, is quite an honor."

Men's tennis also repeated as Sport Academic Award winners under Head CoachJimmy Borendame. The Blue Raiders posted a 3.385 team GPA for the academic year.

"Our student-athletes put in a lot of hours in the classroom, and I am proud of them," Borendame said. "There is a reason they are students before athletes. The academic experience is so important."