GREENWOOD, Ind. — Academic excellence is still a standard trait that Eastern Washington women's tennis carries as a program. Four Eastern women's tennis student-athletes earned CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-District honors, announced today.
Anait Arutiunian, Olivia Marais, Zoe Pradel, and Sara Vasic maintained strong academic standing this season and earned another accolade for their academic achievements.
CoSIDA Academic All-American honors are awarded to student-athletes who perform at an elite level in the classroom and in their chosen sport. Student-athletes who qualify have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and compete in 90 percent of scheduled games or start in 66 percent of games.
In her final season at Eastern, Arutiunian embraced the responsibility of playing at the top, splitting matches between No. 1 and No. 2. She went 4-4 in the Big Sky and 6-10 overall, posting a 4-5 record at No. 2 and 2-5 at No. 1. The Moscow, Russia native played with Vasic at No. 2 doubles, going 7-10 overall and 3-6 in conference matches. Arutiunian ended her Eagle career with 13 match wins in singles and 16 in doubles.
Pradel had a breakout season for the Eagles, posting a 5-3 record against Big Sky opponents and finishing with an 11-8 mark overall as a sophomore, playing primarily at the No. 3 spot. The conference record earned Pradel All-Big Sky second team honors for singles. The Toulouse, France native also earned her first career
Big Sky Tennis Player of the Week award in the final week of the regular season. In doubles, Pradel partnered with Marais at No. 1, and the sophomore duo earned a 4-4 conference record and 7-10 overall. Pradel was 9-6 at the No. 3 singles position, 1-0 at No. 2, and 1-2 at No. 4.
Marais also had a breakout season for Eastern, going 5-3 against conference foes in singles matches. She went 10-5 overall, playing primarily at No. 5. The Lodi, Calif. native had three match-clinching wins out of the No. 5 spot, showcasing her clutch mindset. Marais earned her first career Big Sky Tennis Player of the Week award this past March. Her main singles spot was No. 5, where she was 5-3, while going 4-0 at No. 6 and 1-2 at No. 4.
Vasic played her final season in Cheney and was key for the EWU in doubles. Playing alongside Arutiunian, Vasic had a season-best in wins with seven total victories, with three against Big Sky opponents. The Belgrade, Serbia native had nine wins in doubles for her career, adding three in singles.
The four Eagles helped the team qualify for the Big Sky Championships for the first time since the 2021 season. EWU went to Arizona as the No. 4 seed but fell to Idaho in its first-round matchup. Easter finished the season 5-3 in the Big Sky and 11-0 overall, the most total and conference wins since 2019.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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