SAN ANTONIO — St. Mary's University placed 15 Men's and Women's Tennis student-athletes on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete list, while both programs also earned ITA All-Academic Team honors, the organization announced Tuesday.
The recognition marks the 15th consecutive season both teams have earned the ITA All-Academic Team distinction and the 17th time overall. Individually, student-athletes must maintain at least a 3.5 GPA across both semesters while remaining eligible throughout the season to qualify for ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. Team recognition requires a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2, with every letterwinner included in the calculation.
Janel Ospanova (Karaganda, Kazakhstan),
Madalyn Smelley (Ocean Springs, Miss.),
Alessia Terlizzi (Andria, Italy) and
Sarah Wooten (Beaumont, Texas) were all named to the women's team. Terlizzi wraps up her career as a four-time honoree on the team, while the other three are first-time award winners at St. Mary's. Smelley was named to the squad twice while competing at DBU.
The men's team had 11 honored on the team, tying for the second-most in school history. The 2022-23 team saw 12 named, while in 2021-22, 11 were also honored.
Diego Alvarez (Santa Cruz, Bolivia),
Aaron Ben Anton (Remseck, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany),
Lincoln Baldonado (Glendale, Ariz.),
Ollie Eriksson (Austin, Texas),
Leonardo Fabbri (Faenza, Italy),
Nikita Gavrilonoks (Riga, Latvia),
Bernhard Hauer (Vienna, Austria),
Louis Hein (Hamburg, Germany), Floria Smalto (Paris, France),
Victor Velter (Perpignan, France) and
Evin Walsh (El Paso, Texas) were the 11 Rattlers from this season's roster to make the team. Anton and Hauer conclude their playing careers as four-time selections to the Scholar-Athlete list, while Baldonado and Hein are two-time winners.
In 2026, 548 Division II Men's student-athletes and 649 Women were named ITA Scholar-Athletes, while 70 Men's and 95 Women's tennis programs were awarded the All-Academic Team distinction.
