Cardona and Hinton Pick Up Academic All-Big 12 First Team Honors

IRVING, Texas – In addition to helping lead the Jayhawks to one of their most successful seasons on the court in the last decade, two members of the Kansas women’s tennis team were named to the 2016 Academic All-Big 12 First Team as announced by the conference Wednesday. Senior Maria Jose Cardona and sophomore Smith Hinton were both honored for achieving GPAs higher than 3.20.
 
Cardona, a product of Santiago, Colombia, is majoring in illustration with a minor in business. The three-time honoree has gone 13-3 in singles play this season, picking up Big 12 Player of the Week honors on March 23 after helping the Jayhawk clinch their first-ever win over Texas. Cardona has teamed up with sophomore Summer Collins in doubles and the duo has put together a 9-2 mark playing on court two.
 
Hinton is picking up her first Academic All-Big 12 honor, while majoring in elementary education. The Raleigh, North Carolina native has collected a 9-6 mark in singles play in 2016, manning court two for KU. She has teamed up with freshman Anastasiya Rychagova in doubles action, with the pair posting an impressive 18-2 ledger on court three for KU.
 
Up next, the Jayhawks will host a pair of Big 12 Conference rivals to conclude the 2016 regular season. KU will take on Oklahoma at the Jayhawk Tennis Center on Friday, April 22, at 4 p.m. Kansas will then host current Big 12 leader, Oklahoma State, for Senior Day on Sunday, April 24. First serve against OSU is slated for 12 p.m.
 
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