Flames Men's Tennis Features 4 ITA Scholar-Athletes and Earns ITA All-Academic Team
8/5/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Coming off its first conference championship in program history, the Liberty men's tennis team was recognized for its efforts in the classroom in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) academic awards listing.
The Flames featured four 2021 ITA Scholar-Athletes in Zion Heaven, Steve Mundt, Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst. Additionally, Liberty earned 2021 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 institution for at least two semesters. The Flames have featured 19 ITA Scholar-Athletes during head coach Derek Schwandt's four years at Liberty.
Heaven, Mundt, Wilson and Worst are each three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete honorees. Mundt and Wilson have earned all three honors as Flames, while Heaven (Appalachian State) and Worst (Vanderbilt) received two awards each at their previous schools prior to coming to Liberty.
The ITA All-Academic Team award recognizes programs which held a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above during the 2020-21 academic year. Liberty posted a 3.44 team GPA this past year and holds a 3.47 cumulative team GPA, the second highest of any men's program on campus. The Flames have earned ITA All-Academic Team distinction in each of the last four years.
Zion Heaven | Sophomore (Third Year) | Ewa Beach, Hawaii
• 2020-21 GPA: 3.91
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-21)
• ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Won four singles matches and three doubles contests during spring season
• Posted doubles wins with Rafael Marques Da Silva (No. 2 doubles), Steve Mundt (No. 3 doubles) and Josh Wilson (No. 3 doubles)
Steve Mundt | Sophomore (Third Year) | Berlin, Germany
• 2020-21 GPA: 3.81
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-21)
• ASUN All-Academic team
• Three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2019-21)
• Won eight doubles matches and one singles match during spring campaign
• Posted 8-2 mark in doubles, including a 7-1 record with Josh Wilson in the No. 3 position between March 31-April 24
Josh Wilson | Sophomore (Third Year) | Reigate, United Kingdom
• 2020-21 GPA: 3.83
• Major: Business Administration – Economics
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-21)
• ASUN Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• ASUN All-Academic team
• Three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll (2019-21)
• VaSID Academic All-State Team
• ASUN All-Conference second team
• ASUN Player of the Week (Feb. 3)
• Posted 12 doubles victories and eight singles triumphs during spring season
• Held 7-1 doubles record with partner Steve Mundt in the No. 3 slot in the lineup
Christiaan Worst | Sophomore (Third Year) | Pretoria, South Africa
• 2020-21 GPA: 3.88
• Major: Business Administration – Finance
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2019-21)
• ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year honoree with partner Deji Thomas-Smith
• No. 6 doubles pair in final Oracle/ITA Division I Regional Rankings
• Claimed 11 singles wins and 10 doubles victories on the year
• Worst and Thomas-Smith finished second on the squad with 10 doubles wins, including a 7-4 mark in the No. 1 position
• Won the most crucial doubles match of the year, 7-6 (4) over FGCU's Magnus Johnson and Max Damm in the ASUN Championship title match
Congrats to our 4?? @ITA_Tennis Scholar-Athletes – Christiaan Worst, Zion Heaven, Josh Wilson and Steve Mundt! All four are three-time honorees.
— Liberty Men's Tennis (@LibertyMTennis) August 5, 2021
Additionally, we were honored as an ITA All-Academic Team for the 4?th straight year.
??: https://t.co/vVLV2pqX6p pic.twitter.com/QVHJ1IKKtj
