From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University sophomores Lily McCloskey and Hannah Kassaie were both named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team, as announced by the organization on Thursday.
McCloskey and Kassaie become the second and third Academic All-America selections from the CWRU women's tennis team after former Spartan Madeleine Paolucci was named to the At-Large First Team in 2021. The 2022-23 academic year is the first in which the sports of men's and women's tennis have their own teams.
It is the first career Academic All-America honor for both student-athletes. Kassaie was also named the Division III Academic All-America Team Member of the Year.
Since the program's inception, a total of 106 Case Western Reserve student-athletes have been named Academic All-Americans, compiling 145 selections. McCloskey and Kassaie are the 12th and 13th Spartans to earn Academic All-America honors for the 2022-23 academic year, joining Elizabeth White, Anika Washburn, and Helina VanBibber of the women's soccer team, Alex Lippiatt and Matt Vatne of the men's soccer team, Sara Rogers of the volleyball team, Maria Pritchett of the women's swimming and diving team, and Vishwa Aduru, Ansh Shah, and James Hopper of the men's tennis team. The 13 selections in one academic year are an institution record.
McCloskey was named to both the All-University Athletic Association First Team and All-UAA Second Team for the second time in her career. She was named to the First Team for her play at first doubles with Kassaie and the Second Team for her performance at second singles. She finished the season with a 15-8 record in singles play and a 21-6 mark in doubles play. McCloskey earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season by earning the second seed in the NCAA Doubles Championship. In the classroom, she has a 4.0 cumulative grade point average as a biomedical engineering major at CWRU, earning her first career UAA All-Academic and Academic All-District honors.
Kassaie, the 2023 NCAA Women's Tennis Elite 90 Award Winner, has a 4.0 GPA as a nutrition major at CWRU. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles draw at the NCAA Championships to earn her fourth career All-America honors. Kassaie finished the season with a 21-3 record in singles play and 21-6 record in doubles play and currently ranks first in program history for singles and doubles winning percentages. A four-time All-UAA First Team selection, she earned her first career Academic All-District and UAA All-Academic honors this season.
The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes women's tennis honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. The Division III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions III Academic All-America programs.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at their current institution, and be selected to an Academic All-District team.
During the 2022-23 campaign, the CWRU women's tennis team (15-6) reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and had two players receive invitations to the individual championships.