Four Bearcats are ITA Men's Scholar-Athletes; WU Earns All-Academic Team Award

Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) logo with a tennis ball, a portion of the court, and a portion of the net in the background
July 20, 2021

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Four members of the Willamette University men's tennis team have been named Scholar-Athletes by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for the 2020-21 season. In addition, the overall Bearcat men's tennis team has qualified for All-Academic Team status from the ITA. Willamette players who received the individual academic honor were Luke Hiserman (Sr., Monterey, CA/Pacific Grove HS), Andrew Kropp (So., Bend, OR/Summit HS), Jordan Megiveron (So., Edmonds, WA/Edmonds-Woodway HS), and Quentin Nigbur (So., Newburg, OR/Newberg HS). Hiserman qualified for the award for the fourth year in a row, while Kropp and Megiveron earned the Scholar-Athlete honor for the second time in as many years.

Hundreds of All-Academic Teams and thousands of ITA Scholar-Athletes were selected nationwide from men's tennis squads competing in NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, the NAIA, and junior colleges.

The All-Academic Team award was received with a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the academic year. All varsity letterwinners were included in each team's overall GPA. Willamette's team qualified for the award for the fourth consecutive season.

Scholar-Athlete status was achieved if a player was a varsity letterwinner with a grade point average of at least 3.50 (4.0 scale) during the 2020-21 academic year. Athletes had to attend their current college or university for a least two semesters.

ITA Scholar-Athlete Award

Headshot of Luke Hiserman Luke Hiserman (Sr.) graduated Summa Cum Laude with a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Economics. In his WU tennis career, he competed in 45 singles matches and 44 doubles matches in dual meets from 2017-18 through this spring. During the 2020-21 season, Hiserman saw action in 13 singles matches and 13 doubles matches. All of his matches for the Bearcats this spring were at #4 singles and #3 doubles.

Hiserman received the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award for the fourth consecutive year. He received the Senior Scholar-Athlete Award from Willamette as the graduating men's athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. He was chosen for Northwest Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team honors in 2020-21. Hiserman is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta of Oregon, and the Mortar Board Society. In 2019, he was selected for the Academic Excellence in Environmental Science Award at Willamette.

Headshot of Andrew Kropp Andrew Kropp (So.) earned ITA Scholar-Athlete status for the second year in a row. He played in 13 singles matches and 13 doubles matches in 2020-21. All of his singles matches were at the #5 position and all of his doubles matches were at the #2 position. Including the very short 2019-20 season (due to COVID-19), he has competed in 17 singles matches and 18 doubles matches in two years with the Bearcats.

At Willamette, Kropp is majoring in Economics. Prior to joining the Bearcats, Kropp was a four-year letterwinner at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon. He served as a team captain in high school.

Headshot of Jordan Megiveron Jordan Megiveron (So.) was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete for the second consecutive season. This spring, he played in 13 singles matches at the #6 position and also competed in 13 doubles matches at the #3 position. In doubles, he was paired with Hiserman this year. In two seasons at Willamette, Megiveron has seen action in 14 singles and 14 doubles matches.

Megiveron was a varsity tennis player for four years as a student-athlete at Edmonds-Woodway High School in Edmonds, Washington. He served as a team captain and helped Edmonds-Woodway claim a league title. Megiveron is majoring in Economics and participating in the 3+2 MBA program at Willamette.

Quentin Nigbur Quentin Nigbur (So.) participated in 13 singles matches and 13 doubles matches this season. He played all of his singles matches at the #3 position. Most of his doubles matches were at the #2 position, but he did compete in two singles matches at the #1 position. During his two years with the Bearcats, he has competed in 18 singles matches and 17 doubles matches.

Nigbur is an Economics major at Willamette. At Newberg High School in Oregon, he was a captain for the tennis team. He qualified for the OSAA State Tournament in doubles in 2018. Nigbur graduated from NHS with Honors.

Note:  Academic year listed for each player is for the 2020-21 season.