CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Freshman Kenta Miyoshi and graduate students Oliver Okonkwo and Nic Meister have been named ITA Scholar Athletes, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced on Monday (July 10).
The three Illini were eligible for this award for having a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the current academic year and being listed on the institutional eligibility form.
The team also earned the All-Academic award which happens when teams have a grade point average of 3.2 or above, all student-athletes are listed on the institutional eligibility form and all varsity letter winners are factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year.
The Kawasaki, Japan, native was named to the Big Ten Tournament team for defeating Nebraska’s William Gleason, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals and beating Ohio State’s Jack Anthrop, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Miyoshi picked up one more notable win when he defeated Arizona State’s Nicola Cigna, 6-2, 6-3.
After spending four years at Iowa and taking an off year due to injury, Okonkwo joined the Illini as the primary No. 5 singles spot in the lineup. Okonkwo went 19-12 on the year and 5-1 in conference play.
Okonkwo also had an impressive doubles run with his partner Mathis Debru tabbing a 17-13 overall record and going 7-3 at the No. 2 spot. The pair was also ranked as high as No. 52 in the ITA Doubles Rankings.
In his final year as an Illini, Meister tied for the most singles wins on the season (22) and was a primal leader for the team.
Meister played in 23 matches in the spring, mostly at the No. 6 spot where he went 6-6 with a 22-12 overall record.
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