Patterson named C-USA Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year

Redshirt junior holds 4.0 GPA in business administration
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SKILLMAN, N.J. - Middle Tennessee women's tennis earned academic recognition from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) this month. MT earned a team award for outstanding GPA, while Jesse Grace and Sarah Sediri garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Middle Tennessee's squad posted a 3.299 GPA as a team, meeting the required 3.2 or higher GPA to earn the team award. The Blue Raiders completed a successful season that saw MT reach the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship.

"I am proud of Jesse, Sarah and the entire team for earning these academic awards from the ITA," said head coach Shelley Godwin. "They work extremely hard in the classroom and this recognizes their efforts to represent Middle Tennessee in a positive light both on and off the tennis court."

Grace, a junior from Johannesburg, South Africa, garnered a 3.866 GPA as a mass communication major. The transfer from Tennessee completed her first year with a 16-16 overall singles record. She won five of her six doubles matches with partner Tiffany William from Feb. 7 to March 7. Grace was a 2014 Conference USA Medal Award winner and a C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.

The freshman Sediri completed her rookie year with a 3.6 GPA as an exercise science major. Sediri collected six singles victories and won 11 matches in doubles during her first collegiate campaign. She was tabbed to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2013-14 academic year.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA member program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, or CA JUCO eligibility form and have competed in one or more varsity matches must average into the GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2013 and spring 2014).

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) be a varsity letter winner, 2.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least 2 semesters (including freshman through senior year).

All members of the 2014 All-Academic Teams and ITA Scholar-Athletes receive a certificate to recognize the achievement.