Men's Tennis Earns Academic Accolades

Aug. 20, 2008

East Lansing, Mich. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its annual All-Academic teams and Scholar-Athlete list, given to programs and individuals that exhibit excellence in the classroom. Displaying commitment in the classroom, the MSU men's tennis team earned five Scholar-Athlete selections and Michigan State was named as an ITA All-Academic team.

The individuals earning academic honors are Alex Forger (Okemos, Mich.), Brendan Kinkopf (Cleveland, Ohio), Scott Rasmussen (Moraga, Calif.), Clark Richardson (Leawood, Kan.) and John Stratton (Monroeville, N.J.). Each of the athletes honored by the ITA are first-time selections.

In order to be named to the list, the student-athletes must have earned a 3.50 grade-point average in the current academic year, earned a varsity letter, and been enrolled at their present institution for at least two semesters.

Eligibility for the team award is based on a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or higher. The average team grade point average must include student-athletes who have competed in one or more varsity matches for the current academic year and whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form.

Forger, who is in his fourth season with the Spartans, went 12-17 in singles action in 2007-08, playing the No. 2 singles position for most of the season. He's majoring in interdisciplinary arts and humanities-prelaw.

Kinkopf, a junior, posted a 2-2 record at the No. 6 singles position and was 1-0 in the No. 5 singles spot.

Beginning his senior season, Rasmussen played the No. 5 singles position and went 2-4 in doubles play. Rasmussen is a civil engineering major.

Richardson finished with a singles record of 6-11 and was 5-3 in doubles action. A business major, Richardson will enter his sophomore season this fall.

Stratton, a pre-med major, posted a 4-10 record in doubles action and played in a singles spot for the Spartans.