Men's Tennis Trio Earns ITA Scholar-Athlete Nods
July 20, 2019 | Men's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. – Connor Hance, Govind Nanda and Patrick Zahraj of the UCLA men's tennis team were named ITA Scholar-Athletes for 2019, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Thursday.
Thousands of student-athletes across men's and women's tennis were recognized. In order to be eligible, players must be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year and have been enrolled at his or her present school for at least two semesters (including freshman through senior year).
The awards mark the first for each student-athlete.
Hance, who missed much of the dual-match season after retiring from an ITA Kick-Off Weekend contest in January, had a stellar start to his sophomore campaign. The Torrance, Calif. native reached the Group 1 singles final round at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic, as well as the Flight A doubles consolation championship match with partner Connor Rapp at the UCSB Classic. Off the court, Hance has made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in five of his six opportunities as a Bruin.
Nanda recently made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the second time, adding another accolade to an already impressive debut tally. The Redlands, Calif. native recorded 20 singles wins and 12 doubles victories, reaching No. 35 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings and No. 69T on the doubles list while qualifying for the NCAA Championships singles tournament as an alternate. Nanda was named a Second-Team All-Pac-12 honoree.
Zahraj, who was also a two-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, had his finest on-court moment when he clinched a 4-3 upset win versus crosstown rival in a third-set tiebreaker. For the year, the German freshman won eight singles contests playing primarily in Court 4 in dual matches. For good measure, Zahraj won 15 doubles matches, clinching a team-high seven initial points with partner Bryce Pereira.
Players Mentioned
