June 5, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. -- Old Dominion University senior men's tennis player Aleksandr Seleznev (Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic) was named by the Colonial Athletic Association as the Men's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year today, as the league released the spring sport recipients. Seleznev excelled both athletically and academically for the Monarchs this year.
Seleznev was named CAA Player of the Year for his performance on the court, leading the Monarchs to a 29-9 record at No. 1 singles in the regular season, including a 22-5 overall mark in dual match competition. He also was named First Team All-CAA Doubles with partner Tobias Fanselow, going 21-6. He reached the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles action.
Earlier this year, Seleznev was named the Jack Wilins/James Howard Scholar Athlete of the Year for ODU student-athletes and the CAA echoed the ODU Intercollegiate Foundation's sentiments, awarding him the 2009 CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year for Men's Tennis. He posted a 3.81 grade point average with a double degree in Decision Science and Finance.
The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must meet the Academic All-America minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
Earning the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award in the spring sports were: Mark Stuckless of Hofstra University in baseball, Tom Sherreard of Georgia State University in men's golf, Ashley Tait of UNC Wilmington in women's golf, Brian Karalunas of Villanova University in men's lacrosse, Maggie Bridges of George Mason University in women's lacrosse, Kim Ovittore of the University of Delaware in softball, Aleksandr Seleznev of Old Dominion University in men's tennis, Martina Nitkova of Georgia State University in women's tennis, Cam Shriver of the College of William and Mary in men's track and field and Kelli McDonald of the University of Delaware in women's track and field.