JAMAICA, N.Y. -- The St. Johns University mens tennis team and recent graduates Brian Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) and Erik Scharf (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) were honored recently by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The Red Storm mens team was one of 21 Division I programs selected as an ITA All-Academic Team, while the Scharf brothers were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.

The ITA All-Academic Team award is open to any ITA four-year program that has a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All eligible student-athletes whose names appear on NCAA or NAIA eligibility forms and competed in one or more matches are averaged into the cumulative GPA. In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status at the NCAA or NAIA level, a player must be a junior or senior, a varsity letterwinner and have a grade-point average of at least 3.50.

The Scharf brothers led the Red Storm men to a 10-7 overall record and an appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, where the team finished fifth overall.

Erik, the Red Storms No. 1 singles player, finished the 2000-01 year ranked 79th nationally in the WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings. He posted a 31-4 individual record, including a 15-4 record in tournaments, went 16-0 in dual match play and was selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championships for the second-straight year. He finished his four-year career with a perfect record in BIG EAST regular season play. Erik was named a first-team Verizon Academic All-American this year and graduates with a 3.9 grade-point average in theology.

Brian finished the 2000-01 year with a 13-5 individual record, including an impressive 11-3 mark in dual matches. He captured the consolation tournament at the Army Invitational during the fall and posted his most impressive win at the Penn State Invitational, topping Armys top player, Marshall Clay. Brian, who participates in St. Johns Four in One program that enables students to earn a bachelors and masters degree in a five-year span, will be back at school this Fall, but not competing for the tennis team. He earned his bachelors degree in biology, with a minor in theology, posting a 3.60 grade-point average.

In addition to the Scharfs, the Red Storm men were able to earn this impressive academic honor with four other student-athletes who posted grade-point averages of 3.2 or higher. Senior Cameron Lore (Toronto, Canada/Brebeuf College School), the teams No. 4 singles player and a marketing major; sophomore Jake Maxwell (Glen Cove, N.Y./P.D. Screiber), who finished 13-12 at No. 3 and is a finance major; junior Fabian Carchi (Corona, N.Y./Cardozo), who finished 11-10 at No. 2 and majors in marketing; senior Nikhil Teppara (Toronto, Canada/Post Credit Secondary), who had a 2-11 record this year and is a biology major; as well as junior Christian Carere (Brampton, Ontario/Dennis O'Connor Catholic), a business economics major who had a 4-9 singles mark.

The Scharf brothers were among a group of 74 student-athletes who were named ITA Scholar-Athletes, and St. Johns was one of only 18 schools nation-wide to have at least two players earn the honor.