Click here to see the entire list of CSC Women's Tennis All-District honorees
NEWARK, Del. - - The College Sports Communicators announced its 2023-24 Academic All-District Women's Tennis Team and four Wilmington University student-athletes were recognized as some of the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
Representing the Wildcats on the CSC Academic All-District Team are Jess Purdy, Fenna Swaan, Valentina Ivankovic, and Larize Nel. The Wildcats are four of the 20 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference representatives, tied for the most in the conference.
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District nomination, the student-athlete must excel in both the field of play and the classroom. Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, AND compete in 90 percent of the institution's games or start in at least 66 percent of the games, along with several other criteria.
Jess Purdy (Wilmslow, England) already graduated from Wilmington University with her degree in sports management and is currently a 4.00 student in her second year in earning her graduate degree. Purdy went 14-4 this season in singles, going 6-3 at No. 1 and 8-1 at No. 2 in her final year. She also went 14-3 in doubles matches, going 8-1 in conference play. She went a perfect 7-0 at No. 3 doubles, 4-1 at No. 1 doubles, and 3-2 at No. 2 doubles, playing the most matches with Larize Nel, going 7-2 overall.
Fenna Swaan (Leidschendam, Netherlands) earned a 3.96 grade point average in 2023-24 to raise her cumulative GPA to 3.93 while studying Law, Policy, & Political Science at Wilmington. Swaan went 9-1 in singles competition this year, going a perfect 6-0 in CACC play. She went 4-0 at No. 6 singles, but also 1-0 at each No. 3 and No. 4. She was also 3-1 at No. 5 singles this year. She made her mark in doubles though, leading the team with 15 victories on the year. She went 15-5 overall, going 10-5 at No. 1 doubles and unbeaten at No. 2 (3-0) and No. 3 (2-0).
Valentina Ivankovic (Oberndorf bei Sbg, Austria) graduated with her sports management degree with a 3.92 grade point average and started her graduate degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was second on the team with 15 singles wins this season, going 15-5 overall, including 7-2 in CACC play. She went a perfect 6-0 at No. 4 singles and 6-3 at No. 3, adding a 2-0 mark at No. 2 singles this year. Ivankovic went 10-7 in doubles matches as well, playing 13 matches at No. 1 with a 7-6 record on the year.
Larize Nel (Sasolburg Free State, South Africa) used a 3.94 grade point average in 2023-24 to raise her cumulative to 3.85 while studying Finance and Accounting at Wilmington. Nel went 13-3 in singles matches this year, including a 7-1 mark in CACC play. She went 6-2 at No. 6 singles while adding a 4-1 mark at No. 5 and a 3-0 record at No. 4. Nel went 12-3 in doubles this year, including a perfect 7-0 in CACC play. She was 8-0 at No. 3 doubles, going 4-0 with Jess Purdy.
The CSC Academic All-America Teams will be announced on June 4.