University of Tennessee Athletics
Racz and Tcherveniachki Named ITA Scholar-Athletes
August 14, 2007 | Men's Tennis
Tennessee men???s tennis players Chris Racz and Kiril Tcherveniachki were named ITA scholar-athletes last week in recognition of their academic achievements during the Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 school semesters.
???I???m very proud of Chris and Kiril,??? head men???s tennis coach Sam Winterbotham said. ???They represent what a student-athlete should be all about, a hard-worker on and off the court. This achievement is something I want all of my players to strive for. Hopefully, this is the first of many academic awards for Chris, and for (departing senior) Kiril this is a great way to wrap up his career at UT.???
This is the first time in the 25-year history of the award that UT had two players recognized in the same season. Past winners include, David Baxendine who was honored in 2005, former All-America and coach Chris Mahony was recognized in 1995 and 1996 and Rhain Buth was noted in 1993.
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 thorough senior year).
Racz and Tcherveniachki also had successful years on the tennis court. Racz finished his rookie campaign with a 22-8 record, clinching six victories for UT. Tcherveniachki finished his final season with an 8-1 record in SEC play and also had a career-long 11 match win streak during the regular season. The Auckland, New Zealand native finished with a record of 23-9 for the season.
