001Dr. McNeal, Dr. Federline, and members of the board, thank you for having our state champion girls academic girls tennis team here. So, girls, I'll have you guys walk up here in front. And I'll first just have them introduce themselves, what grade that they're going into next year or if they've graduated, and then what position on the team that they played. So, start with Kennedy. >> Hi, I'm Kennedy Alexander, and I played one double two doubles at state, and I just graduated this past year. >> Hi, my name's Nicole Mendoza. Uh I'll be a senior, and I played two doubles with Kennedy. >> Hi, my name's Dana Cowen. I played one singles, and I'm going to be an upcoming junior. >> I'm Hope Jennings. I'm a junior, and I played two singles. >> My name's Vina
002Ramaswamy. I'm a junior, and I played one doubles with Vina. >> Hi, my name's Dana Hair. I'm going to be an upcoming junior, and I played one doubles with Vina. >> And uh head coach Tyler Ashley had already had a trip. He's in Alaska, but um if we had waited till June or August, these ladies couldn't have been here. So, he said, "Please proceed." But, he did send a letter, um and so I wanted to read it and just kind of explain that. And this is coach Paula Bauer as well, but she's trying to stay out of the spotlight over here. >> [laughter] >> So, um okay. So, from coach Ashley, "Today, we celebrate an outstanding achievement in Union tennis history. For the first time ever, our girls our tennis program has earned the academic
003state championship, and only the fifth time uh of Union athletics has any team achieved this honor. That alone is extraordinary, but what makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is the sport we represent. Tennis is traditionally played by athletes who already carry high uh academic expectations, making the path to an academic state state title incredibly competitive. Winning this award in tennis is not just difficult, it's rare. Most past winners across the state earned the title with teams that had few, if any, athletes qualify for the state tournament athletically. Not only did our team win the academic state championship, but all six varsity players qualified for the state tournament and five of them placed at state. Excellence in the classroom and excellence on the court, our girls didn't choose between them. They embodied both. Our program of
00450 high school girls competed completed nearly 14 100 hours of community service this year. This shows that these athletes are not only champions in academics and athletics, but champions in character. They care deeply about themselves, their school, and their community. They show up, they give back, and they lead. This year, the girls didn't just make history, they set a new standard for what it means to be a student-athlete, for what it means to represent Union, and for what it means to pursue excellence in every arena of life. Congratulations to our academic state champions. You earned this, you deserve this, and you have made Union proud. And I might add that was with a perfect 4.0 that they won that.