NATCHITOCHES – Two Northwestern State tennis stars, senior Natalya Krutova and sophomore Polina Ivanova, are among 12 scholar-athletes on the 2016 Southland Conference Women's Tennis All-Academic Team announced Thursday by the league office.
 
Krutova, who graduated May 8 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in biology, was an automatic first-team selection because she made the 10-woman Academic All-District 6 At-Large Team. It is her third consecutive year for both honors.
 
Ivanova, who has a 3.58 GPA in business administration and accounting, was elected to the Southland All-Academic second team by vote of head coaches, academic advisors and sports information personnel from the 13 league members.
 
They were doubles partners in the No. 1 position who earned second-team All-Southland honors at the end of the regular season. Krutova and Ivanova were 8-1 in the regular-season in conference play, 11-4 overall this spring.
 
The Lady Demon duo helped NSU reach its fourth straight Southland Tournament final, along with a third-place finish in the regular-season conference race.
 
Krutova is one of 80 finalists for the Academic All-America At-Large team, encompassing women from several winter and sports, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. She was elected to the District 6 At-Large team that includes an elite group of 10 outstanding female student-athletes from Division I teams in a district including Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
 
Krutova, who graduated summa cum laude and as class valedictorian, had a minor in biomedical science. She finished her playing career as one of the most accomplished players in Lady Demon tennis history.
 
The Sevastopol, Ukraine native won All-Southland Conference honors for all four seasons while helping NSU reach the Southland Tournament championship match each spring. The Lady Demons won that match and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2015, and also won the regular-season Southland title in 2014.
 
Krutova finished fourth all-time in school history with 60 career dual match singles wins, and with 66 doubles victories.
 
A native of Moscow, Russia, Ivanova led the Lady Demons with an overall 16-3 singles record in the 4-6 positions, including 10-1 at No. 4. She was 12-4 overall in doubles.
 
Southeastern Louisiana senior Renee Villarreal was voted the Student-Athlete of the Year award by the Southland's awards committee. She has a perfect 4.0 GPA and was the Southland Player of the Year along with being the first-team all-conference pick at No. 1 singles.
 
Conference regular-season and tournament champion A&M-Corpus Christi led all schools with three Academic All-Southland selections. NSU, McNeese and Abilene Christian each had two competitors make the all-academic team.