SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – The Drake University women's tennis team garnered three Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete selections, announced by the league office on Tuesday (April 26).
 
Senior Maddie Johnson and sophomore Tess Herder received first-team scholar-athlete honors, while senior Mariel Ante earned honorable mention honors.
 
Johnson maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA as a psychology major and was named first-team scholar-athlete the last two years. She leads the Bulldogs with a 23-9 singles record and has tallied 18 doubles victories. On Sunday, Johnson earned her 100th career singles victory and is three wins away from becoming the Drake's all-time wins leader.
 
Herder owns a 3.93 GPA as an elementary education major. She is currently on a five-match winning streak with a 15-9 singles record. Herder has won all five of her singles matches and is 7-2 in her last 10 match.
 
Ante is a biology major with a 3.32 GPA and holds an 18-22 combined doubles/singles record. Last year, she was named first-team All-MVC doubles and received all-select team singles honors.
 
To be eligible for nominations to the MVC Scholar-Athlete teams, nominees must own a cumulative GPA of 3.20 based on a 4.0 scale and be a starter or important reserve and have played in at least 75 percent of its team's matches. Student-athletes also must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and have completed at least one full academic year at their respective institution. 
 
The Bulldogs open play at the MVC Championship on Friday in Wichita, Kan. against Missouri State at 2 p.m.