Trinity's Samarth Earns Academic All-American Honors For Men's Tennis

rtford, Conn., August 13, 2008 - Trinity College men's tennis junior Gautam Samarth (Pune, India) was selected to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American At-Large Third Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District At-Large First Team.  Samarth also joins senior co-captain Thomas Dolan (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and senior Jeffrey Stempeck (North Reading, Mass.) on the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) 2008 Spring All-Academic Team.  In addition, Dolan was selected as an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar Athlete.  Each student-athlete voted to the ESPN The Magazine All-District Team must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative g.p.a., while each NESCAC All-Academic honoree must be varsity letterwinner and maintain at least a 3.35 cumulative grade-point average, and each ITA Scholar Athlete must maintain a 3.50 g.p.a. for the stated academic year.

The Trinity men's team, coached by Paul Assaiante (14th Season), finished the season with a 13-3 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the NESCAC, qualifying for the league championship tournament for the second straight season.  The Bantams earned the top seed in the league tourney, but lost to eventual champion Bowdoin, 6-3, indoors at Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinals.  Trinity qualified for its eighth NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in the last 10 years as an at-large selection and advanced to the third round with 5-1 win over Vassar before falling at Middlebury, 5-1, indoors to close the season.  The Bantams finished ranked No. 4 in the ITA Division III Northeast Regional Poll and No. 13 in the ITA Division III National Poll. 

Samarth, an All-NESCAC First Team doubles player, finished the 2007-08 season with a 9-3 doubles record at the No. 1 position in the Trinity lineup.  He finished ranked No. 7 in the Northeast as a doubles team with classmate David Yahng (Needham, Mass.).  Samarth was also 12-0 (led team in winning percentage) in singles this year.  Samarth is a graduate of Bishop's High School and majors in economics at Trinity.  He is the son of Gitanjal and Ashish Samarth. 

Dolan, a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, was 11-3 in singles this season and finished his fine career with a 26-18 mark.  He was also 12-4 this spring in doubles, and compiled a 37-17 record with several partners in his collegiate career as a doubles player.  Stempeck was 3-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles this season and finished his fine career with a 10-1 singles mark and an 8-4 doubles record.  Dolan and Stempeck were 4-1 as doubles partners.  Dolan is an alum of St. John's High School and graduated from Trinity in May with a degree in public policy & law. He is the son of Cheryl and Tom Dolan.  Stempeck is an alum of Reading Memorial High School and graduated from Trinity in May with a degree in economics. He is the son of Sheila and John Stempeck. 

Click here for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Information

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Click here for ITA Scholar Athlete Information

Click here for NESCAC All-Academic Information