Three Cavaliers Named Academic All-Americans

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia men’s tennis seniors Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg and grad student James Hopper have been named to the 2024 Academic All-America Men’s Tennis Teams as selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), the organization announced Wednesday (June 5). The award recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

Rodesch, the 2023 ACC Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was an ITA All-American in singles for the third straight season. He was ranked as high as No. 2 and finished the year ranked No. 7. He posted a 16-2 record in dual matches during the regular season.

Hopper is a 2024 ITA All-American in doubles, ranking as high as No. 5 with partner Iñaki Montes. In the fall, they made the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championship, picking up a pair of top-10 wins. They went 11-3 overall with an 8-2 record in dual matches. Hopper joined the Cavaliers in the fall of 2023 after playing four seasons at NCAA III Case Western Reserve, where he was a four-time ITA Singles All-American and four-time ITA Doubles All-American at NCAA III Case Western Reserve, winning the NCAA Doubles titles in 2022 and 2023. He earned Academic All-America honors during his senior season with the Spartans.

Von der Schulenburg has earned multiple prestigious academic and athletic accolades in his career, but this is his first time being named an Academic All-American. Last month, he won the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships. He also received Virginia’s Gus Tebell Memorial Award as UVA’s fourth-year male student-athlete with the highest cumulative scholastic average. He was voted UVA’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in his sophomore season. Athletically, he earned All-ACC honors in each of his four seasons and was also selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship each year of his career. He was ranked as high as No. 13 in singles, posting a career mark of 97-34.

Nineteen NCAA I men’s tennis players were awarded Academic All-America honors this season. Rodesch and Hopper were voted to the seven-player first team. Von der Schulenburg was one of seven to be named to the second team.

In the program’s history, only three other Cavaliers have been voted Academic All-Americans: Iñaki Montes (2023 Second Team), Carl Söderlund (2019 Second Team; 2020 First Team) and Scott Lebovitz (1997 Second Team).

This is the second year College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) have awarded All-Americans in tennis after the sport was previously part of the At-Large honors.

College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Eliot Spizzirri, Texas