DALLAS – Twelve Conference USA men’s and women’s tennis student-athletes were tabbed to the 2019 InTouch Credit Union C-USA Tennis All-Academic Teams, announced by the league on Tuesday. Middle Tennessee leads the conference with three selections across the two teams.
 
2019 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Men’s Tennis All-Academic Team

Luca Keist	Charlotte	So.	3.81	Pre-Business Administration
*Gabriel Sidney	Florida Atlantic	Sr.	3.725	International Business
Tom Moonen	Middle Tennessee	Jr.	4.00	Accounting/Business Administration
Max Rauch	Middle Tennessee	Jr.	3.90	Aerospace/Mathematics/Engineering Technology
Sumit Sarkar	Rice	So.	3.45	Statistics
Nikolai Manchev	UAB	Jr.	3.70	Neuroscience

 
2019 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Women’s Tennis All-Academic Team

Pierina Imparato	Charlotte	Jr.	3.71	Marketing
*Maryna Veksler	FIU	Sr.	3.62	Computer Engineering
Anna Smith	Marshall	So.	3.89	Economics
Costanza Magazzini	Middle Tennessee	Sr.	3.952	Management/Business Administration
Maria Kononova	North Texas	Sr.	4.00	Master of Business Administration
*Tjasa Jerse	Southern Miss	Sr.	3.80	International Business

*Repeat Selection
 
The men’s side saw one repeat honoree from 2018 in Florida Atlantic’s Gabriel Sidney. The senior international business major holds a 3.725 grade-point average (GPA). This season, Sidney has nine singles wins and 11 doubles wins, helping the Owls to the top seed in the league championship. He is a back-to-back selection to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
 
Middle Tennessee led the men’s honorees with two – Tom Moonen and Max Rauch. Moonen has maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA in accounting and business administration. The junior was named a 2017 ITA Scholar Athlete and is currently ranked No. 86 in ITA doubles. Rauch, an aerospace, mathematics and engineering technology major, posted a 3.90 GPA. The Heidelberg, Germany, product is a three-time recipient of the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal and holds a 12-9 singles record heading into the championship.
 
Charlotte sophomore Luca Keist makes his first appearance on the team in 2019. Keist boasts a 3.81 GPA while majoring in pre-business administration. The sophomore is one half of a doubles team that has been nationally-ranked for most of the season, reaching a program-high 18^th in the ITA rankings.
 
Rice’s Sumit Sarkar, an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar qualifier, holds a 3.45 GPA as a statistics major. The New York, New York, native was named C-USA Male Athlete of the Week in two consecutive weeks this season and defeated the No. 4 ranked singles player in the country. He is currently ranked No. 44 by the ITA.
 
Rounding out the men’s team is UAB’s Nikolai Manchev. The junior compiled a 3.70 GPA in neuroscience with minors in biology and chemistry. The two-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll member has secured several crucial doubles victories this season.
 
Two repeat honorees – Southern Miss’ Tjasa Jerse and FIU’s Maryna Veksler – headline the women’s team. Jerse, a 2018 selection, boasts a 3.80 GPA in international business. The senior posted a 9-4 singles record this campaign and her 67 career-wins rank fourth all-time for the Golden Eagles. Veksler, named to the 2017 team, compiled a 3.62 GPA while majoring in computer engineering. The two-time academic medal recipient earned a bid to the NCAA tournament last year after winning the deciding match in the conference championship finals.
 
Middle Tennessee earned their third overall honoree in Costanza Magazzini. The senior posted a 3.952 GPA while majoring in management and business administration. The three-time commissioner’s academic medal selection earned six wins at the No. 1 singles spot in 2019.
 
Charlotte’s Pierina Imparato has maintained a 3.71 GPA as a marketing major. The two-time ITA Scholar Athlete owns a team-best 18-2 singles record heading into the league championship. She earned the program’s first singles victory over Clemson and forms one-half of the 49ers winningest doubles pair this season, as well.
 
Marshall’s Anna Smith, an economics major, holds a 3.89 GPA. The sophomore has made the dean’s list in each of her first three semesters on campus and has led the team in wins across her first two seasons. She defeated the first ranked opponent of her career against James Madison in February.
 
The final honoree of the 2019 team is North Texas’ Maria Kononova. The senior boasts an unblemished 4.00 GPA while earning her Master of Business Administration. In 2018, she graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor’s degree before going on to pursue her graduate degree. Kononova is the program’s all-time winningest tennis player and owns every program record for the Mean Green.