MSU?s Agarwal Earns CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team Honors
May 12, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Announced Thursday by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), Mississippi State men's tennis standout Rishab Agarwal earned Academic All-District First Team honors after his impressive season on the court and in the classroom.
Agarwal earned Thursday's First Team at-large nod after being selected by CoSIDA to the Academic All-America Third Team a year ago. This season the junior has hauled in a trove of honors, as he has been named to the All-SEC Second Team, SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and SEC Community Service Team.
“Rishab is the type of player every coach wishes to have,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “ He is as great on the court as he is in the classroom and he's always a leader that our team looks to.”
Agarwal was the only tennis athlete on the District 6 First Team.
On the court the Hyderabad, India native, has put together a stellar season as Agarwal turned in a 16-7 record in dual-match play in singles play. The junior rose to 54th overall in the ITA Singles Rankings, which led to Agarwal earning a NCAA Individual bid in the singles draw alongside teammate Mate Cutura.
Academically, Agarwal has turned in a perfect 4.00 grade point average in business information during his three years at MSU. The junior is a two-time Newsom Award winner, which is given to the best scholar-athlete in each sport at MSU. Agarwal was also a member of last year's Academic All-District Team as well.
“I am very honored to receive this distinction,” Agarwal said. “I take pride in my academics and it's a great feeling to be recognized for that. Our coaching staff pushes us on the court and in the classroom, so both areas are important to me and to our team.”
CoSIDA will announce the All-America teams on June 9.
Agarwal and the rest of the 21st ranked Bulldogs will take on No. 42 Memphis in the opening round of the NCAA Championship on Friday at 2 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
