ELLISVILLE – The Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats’ tennis team finished No. 23 in the NJCAA Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., in May.

But, they topped their performance on the court with a stellar effort in the classroom.

The JCJC women’s tennis team compiled a 3.31 team GPA, which ranks No. 13 in the country and earned them a spot as one of the NJCAA’s Spring Academic Teams-of-the-Year.

“It’s a good team GPA,” said head coach Mark Easley. “I’m proud of the girls and the way they took care of business in the classroom. It’s good to bring some recognition to the school and to themselves.”

Lisa Rittenhouse and Marisa Chaffin set the pace for the team. Rittenhouse, a South Jones High School graduate, and Chaffin, a Wilkinson County Christian School graduate, were both named Academic All-Americans. Rittenhouse, who also played soccer at JCJC, had a 3.68 GPA, while Chaffin had a 3.59. (On the men’s tennis team, Miles Nerren posted a 3.76 GPA.)

The remainder of the team consisted of Oak Grove sophomore Kelsey Roberts, along with South Jones’ freshmen Bess Butler and Erica Walker, West Jones freshman J.J. Benson, Quitman freshman Rachel Whaley and Simpson Academy freshman Lauren Wallace.

Last year, the Lady Bobcats finished second in the nation with a team GPA of 3.63.

Easley felt the Lady Bobcats would have had an even higher GPA this year, but the team found out at the last minute – just before final exams – they would be headed to the nationals.

“I’m not making excuses, but with the way the schedule fell, we had to rush to take (final) exams,” he said. “We did not find out we were going to nationals until the week before finals and we had to rush to take exams or wait until we got back. That affected the outcome of some our classes and I think it lowered our GPA somewhat.

“I thought we would have been closer to what we did last year, but that’s just hindsight. But, we did well throughout the year.”

Easley believes the tradition of excellence in the classroom is something future Lady Bobcat teams will try to uphold.

“As it goes from year to year, the girls can look at something in stone and say, “Here is what we have done in the past, so let’s strive to do better,’” he said. “We want to maintain or even exceed that standard. We want to be No. 1 in the country.

“We do lose our top two on the team in Lisa and Marissa. I’m very proud of them. But, we will strive to do better next year and I think we have a good shot at doing that.”

Cowley County Community College of Arkansas City, Kan., had the top women’s tennis team GPA with a 3.55.

By Shawn Wansley