Six Tartans Recognized as ITA All-Americans

(TEMPE, Ariz.) – Six Carnegie Mellon University tennis players were recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as 2016 Division III All-Americans. Both the men's and women's programs had three players earn the national distinction for their play on the hardcourt in 2015-2016.

Men's senior Abhishek Alla (Hyderabad, India/IMG Pendleton School) earned his third singles award for his career and finished 2016 with a national ranking of seven. He won the USTA/ITA South Atlantic Regional Singles Championship in the fall and advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinal in May. Alla is joined on the men's team by freshmen Daniel Levine (Highland Park, Ill./Boca Prep International School) and Vayum Arora (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose). Levine earns the honor in both singles and doubles, as he finished the season ranked 24th in singles play. He won his first round match at the NCAA Singles Championship before falling in three sets in the round of 16. He paired with Arora at number one doubles for the Tartans, as the first-year players competed at the NCAA Doubles Championship and finished with a ranking of 10th in the nation to earn the award.

On the women's side, senior Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) earns her first career All-America honor for closing the year with a national ranking of 17. This season, Tsu competed in the NCAA Singles Championship for the first time and was named the NCAA Division III Most Improved Player by the ITA. Joining Tsu on the All-America team is USTA/ITA South Atlantic Regional Doubles Champions, junior Vanessa Pavia (Thornwood, N.Y./Academy of our Lady of Good Counsel) and sophomore Cori Sidell (Redwood Shores, Calif./Carlmont).

Despite missing entry to the NCAA Championship for the first time in 11 years, the women's team was recognized with a national ranking of 12. The team also finished as the runner-up at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fifth straight year.

The men's team returned to the NCAA Championship after a one-year hiatus, advancing to the round of 16. The team's play throughout the season earned a national ranking of seven, which is the program's highest final national ranking.