Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's tennis program and five Fighting Illini student-athletes received recognition from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for their academic achievements during the 2023-24 academic year, as announced on Monday.

The team surpassed the required GPA of 3.2 to qualify for the ITA All-Academic Team award. Mathis Debru, Kenta Miyoshi, Oliver Okonkwo, Zachary Viiala, and Jeremy Zhang were named ITA Scholar-Athletes for maintaining at least a 3.50 GPA throughout the academic year.

Debru was honored as an Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar during the 2023-24 academic year. Achieving double-digit wins in both singles and doubles play as a junior, he ended the season with a nine-game doubles winning streak. This is Debru's first ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Miyoshi earned multiple academic accolades following the 2023-24 academic year, including CSC Academic All-District, Academic All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors. As an All-Big Ten Second Team selection, Miyoshi led the Illini in singles wins in 2024 and secured ITA Scholar-Athlete status for the second consecutive season.

Okonkwo also received ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition for the second consecutive year. He was named an Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree during his final season at Illinois. Okonkwo finished ranked No. 46 in doubles play and clinched the match-winning point against No. 17 North Carolina on February 3.

Viiala joined the Fighting Illini program in January but did not compete during that period; however, he excelled academically. The Australian native is set to make his collegiate debut in the 2024-25 season.

In his first season with Illinois, Zhang earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors for the first time in his career. He recorded a 17-10 singles record in 2024 and played across Courts 4, 5, and 6 during spring matches.