Men’s Tennis Named Big Sky Academic Champions
8/6/2024 6:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis
For the second year in a row the Montana men's tennis team has doubled-up on championships in the classroom.
With a 3.76 average cumulative GPA in the 2023-24 school year, the Grizzlies took home the Dusten Hollist Award in April for the best grades of any team in Grizzly Athletics for a sixth-straight year.
On Tuesday the Griz went one better, winning the team's second-straight Big Sky Conference Team Academic Championship for the best GPA in the league.
The award caps an unprecedented year of success in the team's scholarly pursuits. Not only did head coach Jason Brown's squad post the best grades in the department and across the league, they led the way individually as well.
With a pair of perfect 4.0 GPAs, sophomores Tom Bittner and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas – both all-conference honorees on the court – were named co-winners of UM's President's Award, given to the best individual GPAs in the department at the annual Grizzly Scholar-Athlete Banquet.
Not only did Montana get it done in the classroom, the Grizzlies also had a season to remember in the 2024 season. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) placed UM at No. 8 in its year-end regional rankings – the highest Mountain Region finish in program History.
Bittner was a breakout star for the Griz, going 16-2 overall to become a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky pick and receive a program-best ranking as the No. 10 player in the Mountain Region.
The Big Sky Team Academic Championships are in their second year celebrating the top team academically across all sponsored sports for the 2023-24 athletic calendar.
"Much like performance on the playing surface, strong teamwork is also key to being successful in the classroom," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "Here at the conference office we've enjoyed highlighting these teams over the past couple years and congratulate all of our Team Academic Champions for setting a high bar not only across our league, but the entire country."
These titles were based upon combined team GPA for the entire 2023-24 academic calendar, not just the season they competed in.
Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field were combined for the purposes of these titles.
Eight of the Big Sky's 10 full-time institutions were recognized with a Team Academic Honor, showing academic strength across the board.
2023-24 Big Sky Team Academic Champions
Men's Basketball: Weber State (3.45)
Women's Basketball: Idaho & Northern Arizona (3.63)
Men's Cross Country: Idaho (3.80)
Women's Cross Country: Weber State (3.90)
Football: Eastern Washington (3.33)
Men's Golf: Idaho (3.68)
Women's Golf: Northern Colorado (3.89)
Soccer: Weber State (3.75)
Softball: Weber State (3.66)
Men's Tennis: Montana (3.76)
Women's Tennis: Portland State (3.86)
Men's Track & Field: Idaho (3.61)
Women's Track & Field: Idaho State (3.74)
Volleyball: Eastern Washington (3.83)
With a 3.76 average cumulative GPA in the 2023-24 school year, the Grizzlies took home the Dusten Hollist Award in April for the best grades of any team in Grizzly Athletics for a sixth-straight year.
On Tuesday the Griz went one better, winning the team's second-straight Big Sky Conference Team Academic Championship for the best GPA in the league.
The award caps an unprecedented year of success in the team's scholarly pursuits. Not only did head coach Jason Brown's squad post the best grades in the department and across the league, they led the way individually as well.
With a pair of perfect 4.0 GPAs, sophomores Tom Bittner and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas – both all-conference honorees on the court – were named co-winners of UM's President's Award, given to the best individual GPAs in the department at the annual Grizzly Scholar-Athlete Banquet.
Not only did Montana get it done in the classroom, the Grizzlies also had a season to remember in the 2024 season. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) placed UM at No. 8 in its year-end regional rankings – the highest Mountain Region finish in program History.
Bittner was a breakout star for the Griz, going 16-2 overall to become a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky pick and receive a program-best ranking as the No. 10 player in the Mountain Region.
The Big Sky Team Academic Championships are in their second year celebrating the top team academically across all sponsored sports for the 2023-24 athletic calendar.
"Much like performance on the playing surface, strong teamwork is also key to being successful in the classroom," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "Here at the conference office we've enjoyed highlighting these teams over the past couple years and congratulate all of our Team Academic Champions for setting a high bar not only across our league, but the entire country."
These titles were based upon combined team GPA for the entire 2023-24 academic calendar, not just the season they competed in.
Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field were combined for the purposes of these titles.
Eight of the Big Sky's 10 full-time institutions were recognized with a Team Academic Honor, showing academic strength across the board.
2023-24 Big Sky Team Academic Champions
Men's Basketball: Weber State (3.45)
Women's Basketball: Idaho & Northern Arizona (3.63)
Men's Cross Country: Idaho (3.80)
Women's Cross Country: Weber State (3.90)
Football: Eastern Washington (3.33)
Men's Golf: Idaho (3.68)
Women's Golf: Northern Colorado (3.89)
Soccer: Weber State (3.75)
Softball: Weber State (3.66)
Men's Tennis: Montana (3.76)
Women's Tennis: Portland State (3.86)
Men's Track & Field: Idaho (3.61)
Women's Track & Field: Idaho State (3.74)
Volleyball: Eastern Washington (3.83)
Players Mentioned
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