OMAHA, Neb.— Creighton graduate of women’s tennis Leanne KendallSenior Kate KruegerJunior Malvika Schukla and second graders Valerie Negin Each earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team on Tuesday, May 9th.
The 2023 Academic All District ® Women’s Tennis Team, selected by CSC, recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined accomplishments on the courts and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America ® program separately recognizes tennis honorees in four divisions. NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division II and NAIA.
The Bluejays’ four honorees are the most ever won by the Creighton women’s tennis team in a single season, and all four Bluejays are promoted and listed on the CSC Academic All-America Ballot. Academic All-America Honorees will be announced in late May.
Excelling in the classroom and on the court, Kendall joined Creighton after earning her bachelor’s degree in data science with a 3.93 GPA from Bryant University, where she was a four-time ITA Scholar Athlete and a three-time member of the NEC Commissioners Honor was rolling. Kendall is in the process of completing a master’s degree in analytics and entered the spring semester with a 4.0 GPA. In her only season with the Bluejays, Kendall totaled 33 wins, including 20 in the spring season. She was one of five Bluejays to have 20 or more wins this spring, having racked up 11 singles wins and nine doubles.
Krueger, an exercise science/pre-med major, entered spring with a GPA of 3.84. The Omaha product has been voted captain of the team for the last two seasons and has amassed 19 wins this season, including 13 wins in doubles. Krueger was instrumental in leading the Bluejays to the finals of the BIG EAST tournament for the first time in program history, winning a close three-set bout against DePaul’s Eleanor Nobbs to earn victory in the semifinals match. Krueger, a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete and three-time All-BIG EAST Academic Team Honoree, was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team last season.
In her third season with the Bluejays, Shukla holds a cumulative GPA of 4.00 while studying exercise science. A five-time member of the Creighton Honor Roll, Shukla has also received an ITA Scholar-Athlete Award twice and was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team twice. On the court, Shukla finished the 2023 season with First Team All-BIG EAST honors. Shukla beat the Bluejays with 16 singles wins, while the three-time BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week earned 14 wins at the top of the singles position, including 13 straight into the season opener. Her 16 singles wins were the most Bluejays in a single season since Michaela Henne accumulated 18 singles wins in the 2017 season. Along with her nine doubles wins, Shukla finished the season with 25 combined wins.
Negin is a business analytics major and has a GPA of 3.81. The Centennial, Colorado native became only the sixth Bluejay in program history to earn multiple All-Conference honors after earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team for the second straight season. Playing primarily at 3rd place in singles, Negin achieved 11 singles wins in the 2023 season. She posted a 6-1 record against the BIG EAST competition, including a terrific three-set win over DePaul’s Hannah Smith to give the Bluejays their first entry into the BIG EAST Finals. Negin also teamed up with Freshman Ana Paula Martinez Amass 15 doubles wins to finish the season with a team-best 26 combined wins.
