April 26, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
After a regular season where juniors Carolyne Parent and Véronique Parke-Bédard competed at high levels on the tennis courts, the duo were honored for their work off the court and in the classroom on Thursday by the Missouri Valley Conference. Bédard was named to the 2007 MVC Women's Scholar-Athlete First Team for the first time in her career and Parent garnered honorable mention scholar-athlete honors for the second time in her career.
MVC Tennis Scholar-Athlete nominees must all show exemplary work in the classroom, which includes a 3.0 cumulative GPA, be a sophomore in academic and athletic standing and be projected to participate in the 2007 State Farm MVC Women's Tennis Championship this weekend or have competed in 75 percent of the regular season matches.
Parent and Parke-Bédard qualify on both fronts. When it comes to academics, the pair has posted stellar GPAs throughout their three-year careers. Parke-Bédard has maintained a 3.79 GPA while majoring in international business, while Parent has held a 3.59 mark as a general studies major.
Between the white lines on the tennis courts, Parke-Bédard has been one of the team leaders in both singles and doubles action helping the Redbirds to a 12-8 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Valley. The Pont-Rouge, Québec, native is second on the team with 19 singles victories, one win shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the second time in her career. She was 7-1 over the course of Valley action and finished the season winning nine of 10 matches.
In doubles competition, Parke-Bédard was 20-9 overall and had a 17-7 record when teaming with senior Katri Miller. The duo was 5-2 in MVC action.
Parent has been the Redbirds most consistent performer, leading the team with 21 wins. The St.-Jean Sur Richelieu, Québec, native was near unbeatable when playing at the No. 4 spot in the lineup recording an 11-1 record. She was tied for second on the team with freshman Julia Zubkova with five singles wins against Valley competition and has won 18 of her last 22 contests. Parent has also been solid at the No. 3 doubles position, teaming with senior Matea Simovic to record 11 victories, second most on the squad.
Parent and Parke-Bédard return to action on Friday when they lead the Redbirds against Drake in the first round of the MVC Championship. First serve between the `Birds and Bulldogs is slated for 10 a.m.
