NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May, 23, 2012) - Concordia College women's tennis player Yuliya Plevako (Astana, Kazakhstan) and University of the Sciences men's tennis player Alvaro Vargas have been voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District I First Team(s).

Plevako, a junior majoring in Business Administration, will represent Concordia on the national ballot as she is eligible for the Academic All-American Honors. To be nominated for the award a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a minimum grade point average of a 3.30 and a starter or a significant reserve player on their respective team.

Yuliya concluded the season with an 11-2 overall record in singles as well as an 11-2 record in doubles play. In both singles and doubles she played in the No. 1 position to help the Clippers reach the NCAA East Regional Second Round match.

During the academic year, Plevako was named a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Week on Sep. 20 and Oct. 17 and was a member of the All-CACC First Team. Yuliya is currently the 3rd-ranked singles and doubles player within the NCAA Division II East Region according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

Vargas, a psychology major at the University of the Sciences recently completed his second and final season of play for the Devils after having played two seasons at Union College in Kentucky.  Alvaro has a 3.79 grade point average and is on target to graduate in May 2013. 

A two-year starter for the Devils, Vargas recorded an 11-6 record during the 2011-12 season playing at the number one singles spot and a 10-6 record at number one doubles.   He lost just one conference match in singles play and was ranked #8 in the region in doubles by the ITA. 

 In his two seasons at USciences, Vargas recorded a 19-12 singles and 21-11 doubles mark for a winning percentage of 63.4%. He earned honorable mention All-CACC in 2011.  Coupled with his two seasons at Union, Alvaro compiled a 54-15 singles record and 54-16 doubles record over his four seasons of intercollegiate tennis. 

The Manizales, Columbia native is a member of Psi-Chi (Psychology Honor Society and has earned Dean’s List honors three times.  Vargas was also named a Division II Athletic Director’s Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award winner in 2011.

The NCAA Division II District I consists of 39 schools within the three East region Division II conferences (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, East Coast Conference and Northeast-10 Conference). 

To be nominated for the Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 3.30 grade point average and a starter or significant reserve on her team.