SAN FRANCISCO – Stanford senior Sameer Kumar has been named the Pac-12 Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced.
"Thank you to my family, my teammates, and my coaches who have supported me both on and off the court throughout my four years at Stanford," Kumar said. "I am honored to receive this award and represent the school I love!"
The senior economics major carries a 3.92 cumulative grade-point average in the classroom. He continues to perform on the court as well, helping guide Stanford to a No. 12 national ranking and 14 dual wins so far this season. Kumar owns a 10-2 dual record this spring, most recently capturing a three-set thriller to help Stanford earn a come-from-behind victory over California. The senior also provided the clincher to give the Cardinal a 4-3 come-from-behind victory at USC in February.
Kumar has been ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll the majority of his career. He is currently ranked No. 114 in the nation. The senior also owns an 11-5 mark in doubles during dual play this season. He has played at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 spot in singles, and primarily competed at the No. 2 spot in doubles this spring.
Kumar entered his senior season as a two-time First Team Pac-12 All-Academic selection and a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete. He is in his second season as a captain for the Cardinal, serving as a co-captain as a junior. The senior has been a regular in the lineup throughout his Stanford career. He is tied for 33rd in program history with 44 career dual victories.
Along with his standout efforts on the court and in the classroom, Kumar has volunteered his time with East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring, a learning program for first- through twelfth-grade students from the community that provides academic tutoring, education and tennis instruction. Kumar served as a tennis coach this past fall and has since taken on a mentor role as a tutor with the program.
Kumar is the third Stanford men's tennis student-athlete to capture the conference's top academic honor since the award was first established 12 years ago. He joined Denis Lin (2013) and Ryan Thacher (2012) as winners of the prestigious award.
With Kumar's selection, Stanford student-athletes have now won 10 of the 15 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors awarded so far during the 2018-19 academic year. Kumar joined women's basketball's Alanna Smith, women's swimming and diving's Ella Eastin, men's swimming and diving's Matt Anderson, women's volleyball's Tami Alade, men's soccer's Adam Mosharrafa, women's soccer's Michelle Xiao, wrestling's Paul Fox, men's cross country's Grant Fisher and women's cross country's Elise Cranny as Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honorees this academic year.
Kumar and Stanford will close the regular season this weekend, traveling to the Pacific Northwest to face Oregon on Friday in Eugene and Washington on Sunday in Seattle.
