NORMAL, Ill. – Each year, deserving Illinois State men's tennis student-athletes are chosen as recipients for prestigious endowed scholarships at Illinois State. This year, the outstanding duo of Aleksa Lazarevic and Diego Le Gal Perez were selected for these honors by ISU head coach Mark Klysner.
"Both of these student-athletes are very deserving of these endowments," Klysner said. "Aleksa has been such a great addition since transferring here last year and has been an exceptional teammate and representative of our tennis program. Diego has become such an instrumental player for our program, and I have seen him mature on and off the court in a way that has been such a positive influence on his teammates and our University."
Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship: Aleksa Lazarevic / Jr. / Sabac, Serbia
Lazarevic went 16-8 in singles competition in the dual season, playing primarily at the No. 5 spot for the Redbirds in 2018-19. He finished 6-11 in doubles competition, primarily at No. 1 doubles with partner Egehan Sertkaya, and was named to the Summit League Academic Honor Roll in his first season with the Redbirds.
Established in 1998, the Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship was funded by friends of the star Redbird men's tennis player. Green competed at Illinois State prior to World War II and his scholarship was presented for the first time in 1999.
Jim Whitman Tennis Endowed Scholarship: Diego Le Gal Perez / So. / Madrid, Spain
Le Gal Perez finished the spring slate 7-9, playing mostly at the No. 2 singles for the Redbirds last year. He also went 5-6 during the dual season in doubles play, including a 3-1 record with partner Igor Kolaric at No. 2 doubles.
The Jim Whitman Tennis Scholarship was established in 2014 from gifts made in honor of Jim Whitman to benefit a men's tennis student-athlete. Jim was a former Illinois State men's tennis player and coach who received all-conference accolades all four years as a player at Illinois State from 1963-67 and coached from 1972-1986. As a player Jim was honored as MVP twice and won three conference singles titles. He was inducted to the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 1981.
These endowed scholarships are among the more than 30 available to Illinois State student-athletes that are funded by private donors. For more information about establishing or contributing to an endowed scholarship, please call the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund office at (309) 438-3803. To read about each current endowment in more detail, visit the WSF website at www.weisbeckerscholarshipfund.com.
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