Eichkorn Named Women's Tennis ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
July 7, 2010
Greensboro, N.C. – University of Miami junior Bianca Eichkorn has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year and heads up the sport’s 2010 All-ACC Academic Team, as announced on Wednesday, July 7, by Commissioner John D. Swofford.
Joining Eichkorn for the Hurricanes on this year’s All-ACC Academic team is senior Laura Vallverdu – making her fourth consecutive appearance, along with sophomores Anna Bartenstein and Gabriela Mejia.
Eichkorn, an International Finance and Marketing major from Tengen, Germany, was a third-team 2010 Academic All-America selection by ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA and is a three-time member of the All-ACC Academic Tennis Team. Eichkorn has been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll twice and is eligible to be included again this year. Her honors at Miami include being a two-time selection to the Provost’s Honor Roll, a six-time membership participant on the Dean’s List and six-time inclusion on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
On the courts, Eichkorn earned ITA All-America and All-ACC honors in 2010 while posting a 31-5 overall record and a 23-0 dual match record. Eichkorn finished 11-0 vs. fellow ACC opposition and ranks seventh all-time at Miami in career wins. After turning in the most successful sophomore season in school history during the 2008-09 campaign with 40 singles wins; she bounced back in 2009-10 to claim consecutive ITA All-America honors after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament in Athens, Ga.
Eichkorn holds the third-longest singles winning streak in school history – registering 27 consecutive from Jan. 17 through her NCAA Singles Quarterfinals match on May 29. She finished the 2010 season ranked No. 22 in the final Campbell/ITA singles poll, as well as No. 43 (along with partner Bartenstein) in the doubles poll.
Laura Vallverdu, making her fourth consecutive appearance to the All-ACC Academic Team, was honored in May with the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in women’s tennis. She finished her UM career as a four-time All-ACC selection, as well as a four-time ITA All-American. In addition, she closed her career as Miami’s all-time leader in singles wins, holding a career mark of 131-34. Vallverdu reached the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championships this spring to conclude her college career and ended the 2009-2010 season leading her team with 35 singles wins for a 35 -13 mark overall. She completed the doubles season at 19-6 with a #1 ranking and finished 21-12 against nationally ranked opponents. Vallverdu is the first player in University of Miami history to win at least 30 times in each of her four years. She is also a four-time All-American, the third four-time All-American in school history, and a four-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference, a first in the program’s history.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Vallverdu is an academic standout. She graduated with a 3.60 GPA, majoring in psychology, was named a Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic and Second Team Academic All-District III Team.
Anna Bartenstein and Gabriela Mejia are each making their first appearance to the All-Academic Team. Bartenstein is majoring in Marketing, while Mejia is working towards a degree in International Finance and Marketing. Bartenstein finished her first season with UM, after transferring from Tulane, collecting 30 wins in singles play, posting a 26-7 mark in doubles play. Bartenstein was 20-4 in the spring for singles competition.
Mejia, concluding her second season in Coral Gables, tallied a record of 28-5 on the year – including a record of 22-3 in the spring. At one point, Mejia rolled off 15 straight wins for the `Canes, beginning Feb. 14 at the ITA Indoor Championships in a Miami win over fourth-ranked Georgia, concluding in second round action of the ACC Championships. In doubles play, Mejia was a part of 19 consecutive wins heading into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships with partner Vallverdu. The duo ended the season ranked No. 6 in the ITA doubles poll.
The four Miami student-athletes are joined on the 2010 Women’s Tennis All-ACC Academic Team by fellow ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-American Martha Blakely of Virginia Tech. Eichkorn and Blakely are two of 10 members of this year’s All-ACC Academic Women’s Tennis Team that have received the honor on at least one prior occasion. That list includes four-time honoree Laura Vallverdu and three-time honorees Eichkorn, Ina Hadziselimovic of Clemson, Reka Zsilinszka of Duke, Katie Rybakova of Florida State, Katrina Tsang of North Carolina and Sasha Kulikova of Wake Forest.
Twelve members of the Women’s Tennis All-ACC Academic Team were also 2010 All-ACC selections. Miami’s Eichkorn, Vallverdu and Gabriela Mejia; Clemson’s Hadziselimovic and Duke’s Ellah Nze also earned ITA All-America honors this past season.
To be eligible for consideration for All-Academic Team honors, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during her academic career.
For a complete listing of the All-ACC Academic Team for women’s tennis, please log on to www.theacc.com.
