The Liberty men’s tennis squad was honored for its efforts in the classroom during the 2021-22 school year in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) academic awards listing.
The back-to-back ASUN champion Flames featured five 2022 ITA Scholar-Athletes in Omar El Kadi, Goncalo Ferreira, Zion Heaven, Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst. In addition, Liberty earned 2022 ITA All-Academic Team recognition.
The ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction is given to student-athletes who are varsity letter winners, have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or above for the current school year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters. The Flames have featured 24 ITA Scholar-Athletes during head coach Derek Schwandt’s five years at Liberty.
Heaven, Wilson and Worst are each four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete award winners. Meanwhile, El Kadi and Ferreira are first-time honorees.
The ITA All-Academic Team award recognizes programs which held a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above during the 2021-22 academic year. Liberty posted a 3.40 team GPA this past year, the second highest of any men’s team on campus. The Flames are maintaining a 3.33 cumulative team GPA, the third highest among men’s programs at Liberty. The Flames have earned ITA All-Academic Team distinction in each of the last five years.
Omar El Kadi | Sophomore | Cairo, Egypt
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.58
• Major: Business Administration: International Business
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• 2022 ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Won 11 doubles matches (11-7 record) on the year, claiming seven victories in the fall and four in the spring
• Picked up four singles victories (all in fall) in first season at Liberty
Goncalo Ferreira | Sophomore (Third Year) | Barcelos, Portugal
• 2021-22 GPA: 3.68
• Major: Criminal Justice
• First ITA Scholar-Athlete award
• Three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2020-22)
• Recorded 15-8 singles record on the year, including a 13-3 fall mark
• Tallied nine doubles wins, six in tournament play and three in the dual competition
Zion Heaven | Junior (Fourth Year) | Ewa Beach, Hawaii
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-22)
• Two-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2021-22)
• Totaled 12 singles wins on the year, including a 10-4 tournament mark
• Posted 6-4 doubles mark, including a 5-2 record in fall competition
Josh Wilson | Junior (Fourth Year) | Reigate, United Kingdom
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-22)
• Two-time ASUN Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2021-22)
• Two-time ASUN All-Academic team (2021-22)
• Four-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2019-22)
• VaSID Academic All-State Team (2021)
• Two-time ASUN All-Conference first team (2019, 2022), ASUN All-Conference second team (2021)
• VaSID All-State singles first team (2019), two-time VaSID All-State singles second team (2020, 2022)
• 2022 ASUN All-Tournament team
• Six-time ASUN Player of the Week
• Set school record with 29 singles victories (15 in fall, 14 in spring) during 2021-22 campaign
• Finished season as No. 11-ranked singles player in Atlantic Region.
• Won 17 doubles matches on the year (10 spring, seven fall), posted an 8-1 mark with Christiaan Worst as his partner in the spring
• Ended year ranked second in program history with 75 career singles victories and 10th with 59 doubles triumphs
Christiaan Worst | Sophomore (Third Year) | Pretoria, South Africa
• 2021-22 GPA: 4.00
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-22)
• ASUN All-Academic team (2022)
• ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2021-22)
• 2021 ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year with partner Deji Thomas-Smith
• Finished second on the squad 24 singles victories during 2021-22 campaign, led team with 17 spring wins and a 17-6 mark
• Tied for team lead with 19 doubles victories (12 spring, seven fall), won all but one match (8-1 record) with Josh Wilson as his partner in the spring
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