McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's tennis team has achieved recognition for academic excellence, with five players receiving the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Scholar-Athlete honor. The team also secured the All-Academic Team accolade, as announced by the ITA on Wednesday, July 24.

The honored athletes include senior Macy Michorczyk from Franklin Park, junior Valeria Rivera from Marengo, sophomore Kate Christian from Washington, and freshmen Amber Ehrlich from Springfield and Lily Huang from Crystal Lake. To qualify for the Scholar-Athlete Award, students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.5 during the academic year. Teams earning All-Academic status need a collective GPA of at least 3.2.

Macy Michorczyk received her second consecutive scholar-athlete award. As a chemistry major, she achieved a 3.88 GPA during the 2023-24 season while participating in ten matches. Additionally, she earned her second straight Academic All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honor to close her college career.

Kate Christian earned her second ITA academic award with a 3.93 GPA as a sociology major. Representing IWU on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team, she also received her first Academic All-CCIW accolade. In singles competition, she recorded an overall record of 8-10 and finished with a doubles record of 7-11.

Amber Ehrlich excelled in her freshman year with a 3.96 GPA as a finance major. She received Second Team All-CCIW honors and was named CCIW's Player of the Week on October 11. Recognized as the team's "Most Valuable Player," Ehrlich posted an overall singles record of 11-6 and participated in No. 1 doubles play with an 8-10 record.

Both Lily Huang and Valeria Rivera celebrated their first academic awards after joining Illinois Wesleyan towards the end of the fall season.

Under head coach Jason Van Heuklon's leadership for two years, the Titans have been recognized among seven schools in their conference to earn this honor and are part of a group of 167 Division III teams nationwide achieving this distinction alongside Augustana College, Carroll University, Carthage College, Millikin University, North Central College, and Wheaton College.