GREENWOOD, Ind. - With two stellar seasons coming to a close for the 2024-25 academic year, five members of the Converse University tennis teams were honored as College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections. Two Valkyrie women received the honor while the men's team had three selections. They are: sophomore Takuma Furumaki, junior Sofia Giraldo-Jimenez, junior Laurel Maynor, senior Leopold Morel and sophomore Manuel Roncero.

Giraldo-Jimenez, Maynor and Morel all receive the honor for the second time in their collegiate careers. Furumaki and Roncero both earn the distinction for the first time in their first year of eligibility.

To be eligible for the honor a student-athlete must have a 3.50 GPA, sophomore academic standing and must be in the lineup for 70 percent of an institution's days of competition. Regional competitions such as ITAs and non-team scored events do not count towards this total.

Furumaki, a sophomore marketing major from Shizuoka-shi, Japan, played primarily at Nos. 2 & 3 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Valkyries. He posted a 9-9 singles record, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, and a 13-5 doubles record, 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.

Giraldo-Jimenez, a junior biochemistry major from Medellin, Colombia, made appearances at Nos. 2-5 singles, picking up six wins along the way. Competing primarily at No. 2 doubles, she won seven matches, including five conference matches. 

Maynor, a junior politics major from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, overcame injury to appear in 18 of the Valkyries matches. She also made appearances at four different singles lines, picking up the majority of her wins at No. 5 singles. Maynor posted a 7-6 doubles record while primarily playing at No. 2 doubles where she went 5-3.

Morel, a senior international business major from Les Gonds, France, posted a 12-6 singles record while playing primarily at No. 6 singles, where he went 10-4. In doubles play, he recorded a 10-7 record with doubles partner Marty Letessier. The pair primarily played at No. 1 doubles and recorded five wins at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

Roncero, a sophomore double major in data science and music from Valencia, Spain, held down the top court court for the Valkyrie men. He played all but two of his matches at No. 1 singles and won seven matches on the highest court. He played just three doubles matches and won his Oct. 13, 2024 matchup against Wingate at No. 3 doubles. Roncero earned Third Team All-Conference-Carolinas honors.

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