April 21, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -Filip Miljevic and Xavier Riart-Ferrer of the Illinois State men’s tennis team were among eight student-athletes named to the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete First Team, as announced by the league office Wednesday. This is Riart-Ferrer’s second-consecutive year earning first-team honors and it is Miljevic’s first scholar-athlete selection.
Scholar-Athlete honors require athletes to meet certain performance standards to be eligible. A student-athlete must hold a cumulative 3.2 GPA, they must be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing and have participated in at least 75% of the regular season or must be projected to participate in the MVC Championship to earn a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team.
Miljevic is a junior and a finance major with a 3.58 cumulative GPA at Illinois State. The Novi Sad, Serbia native holds a 22-13 overall singles record in the 2009-10 season. As of late, Miljevic has been solid on the No. 3 singles court for the Redbirds. He has won four of his last five singles matches; three of which were conference wins. Miljevic claimed the Flight 1 MVC Individual Championships Title this January when he defeated Mauricio Ballivian of Drake in the final. In doubles, Miljevic and teammate Alexander Pelaez were ranked No. 55 nationally this past fall. Miljevic was also named MVC Athlete of the Week Feb. 2.
Riart-Ferrer is a senior and a chemistry major with 3.73 cumulative GPA at Illinois State. In his senior season, Riart-Ferrer has served as a team captain and sports an 18-15 overall singles record, including a perfect 3-0 conference record. The Lledia, Spain native currently has a four-match winning streak, his longest of the season. In his four years with the Redbirds, Riart-Ferrer has collected a total of 53 singles wins and 29 doubles victories.
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