BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team was officially named to an elite list for academic prowess Saturday as the Bulldogs garnered 2012 All-Academic honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
 
Samford, which concluded its 2012 season with a 17-5 overall record and a 9-1 mark in Southern Conference play, earned its first SoCon regular-season championship in school history. The Bulldogs also advanced to the title match of the SoCon Tournament.
 
Samford was the only SoCon school to receive ITA All-Academic Team honors Saturday. A team must hold a cumulative 3.20 grade-point average or above (on a 4.0 scale), with all players who have competed in one or more varsity matches counting into the GPA average for the current year (including fall 2011 and spring 2012).
 
The Bulldogs finished the 2011-12 campaign with a stellar 3.66 team grade-point average.
 
The Samford men's tennis team is coached by Rahim Esmail, who recently completed his first season at the helm of Bulldog tennis.