Simmons Tennis has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III All-Academic Team for 2008. Simmons was the only Great Northeast Athletic Conference program to earn such honors from the ITA.

To receive All-Academic Team recognition, programs need a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, and all athletes on the roster must have competed in one or more varsity matches in the current season.

"This is quite an achievement given the difficulty of our tennis schedule as well as the rigors of our academic schedules," said Head Coach Bob Rauseo. "There were only six other women's teams from Massachusetts selected, so this award puts our program in the top echelon of Division III tennis both on and off the court."

Three Sharks also received individual recognition from the ITA. 2008 graduates Lauren Faber (Bethany, CT) and Allison Kukla (Manchester, NH), and sophomore Katy Hallinan (Lakeville, MA), were named 2008 Division III Scholar Athletes. The Scholar Athlete award is given to athletes who have won a varsity letter, have a GPA of at least 3.50 for the academic year, and have been enrolled at their institution for at least two semesters. Faber, Hallinan and Kukla finished the year  with GPAs of 3.54, 3.71 and 3.90, respectively.

Hallinan finished her freshman season with a 6-3 singles record, and was undefeated in doubles matches. "Having Katy be both a starter and an ITA Scholar Athlete selection as a freshman is impressive," said Rauseo. "Also, having co-captain nursing major Lauren Faber mixing clinicals and backhands while finishing her Simmons career as an ITA Scholar Athlete shows that hard work and perseverance pays off."