Whitman Men's Tennis Players Ace Academic All-District Honors

Congratulations to Justin and Christoph for receiving Academic All-District honors! Below is the official press release from Whitman's SID Dave Holden

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Justin Hayashi and Christoph Fuchs, captains of the Whitman College men's tennis team, have earned spots on ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District At-Large First Team.

Hayashi and Fuchs, who helped Whitman win its second straight Northwest Conference (NWC) title earlier this spring, are two of 11 athletes chosen for the men's at-large team in the College Division of District VIII. The district includes all NCAA Div. II/Div. III and NAIA schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, as well as British Columbia.

The at-large teams represent student athletes in a variety of sports, including golf, skiing, gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, lacrosse and tennis.

Players on all-district at-large teams from around the nation are now eligible for election to the Academic All-America team. The College Sports Information Directors of America (Co-SIDA) administers the nominating and voting process for the Academic All-America program, which is in its 58th year and has honored about 15,000 students at all levels for all recognized NCAA sports.

Hayashi and Fuchs were key contributors this spring as Whitman rolled through a third consecutive 16-0 NWC regular season. Whitman was 24-5 as part of a season that included a third straight appearance in the NCAA Division III national tournament.

Hayashi, an Asian Studies major from Kirkland, Wash., made his biggest contribution this past spring in doubles. He and doubles partner Dan Wilson swept through an undefeated regular season, winning their first 17 matches. After losing for the first time at the NWC championships, they stormed through the first three rounds of the prestigious Ojai Valley tournament, knocking off the top-seeded team in the process before finally falling in the semifinals.

Hayashi finished his senior season with a 21-3 record in doubles. He also won all six of his matches in singles. His play in singles was limited by Whitman's relatively deep roster.

A year ago, Hayashi organized a free tennis clinic for youngsters in Vancouver, B.C. He and several of his teammates gave the three-day clinic during their 2008 Spring Break.

Hayashi, who speaks fluent Japanese, worked the past two summers as a sales and/or marketing intern at Tokyo's Jinji Tennis Center and New York's Eastbrook Capital Group. He graduates from Whitman on Sunday and starts a one-year internship in July with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

As a senior at Whitman, Hayashi served as a trustee with the Whitman Investment Club and as a senator in the student government. He also held a number positions the past four years as an intern in the Whitman Admission office.

Hayashi, the son of Hiroko Hayashi of Kirkland, Wash., is a graduate of Seattle's Lakeside School.

Fuchs, a biology major (chemistry minor), has maintained a 3.92 cumulative grade point average at Whitman, which ranks him in the top five of all varsity athletes on campus.

Playing his third season of college tennis this spring, Fuchs was a regular this spring in both singles and doubles. He was 9-3 in singles, which included a 7-1 record against NWC opponents, and 9-8 in doubles (6-1 NWC).

Fuchs, who has senior academic status at Whitman, will not complete his degree requirements until the 2010 spring semester, when he plans to play his fourth college season. He plans to pursue medical school studies after his Whitman graduation.

Fuchs worked last summer at the University of Louisville's Brown Cancer Center, assisting with breast cancer research aimed at developing predictive tests for cancer's responsiveness to treatment. He plans to write an honors thesis on his research, which was funded through the Whitman Internship Fund and the University of Louisville's Institute for Molecular Diversity and Drug Design.

In the summer of 2007, Fuchs was a volunteer nurse's aide at a hospital in Offenburg, Germany, as part of a program required of German students for medical school eligibility. Fuchs, who is fluent in German, handled duties ranging from feeding patients and taking vital signs to shadowing physicians on their rounds and assisting with surgeries.

This summer Fuchs plans to shadow physicians at a hospital near his home in La Center, Wash., and volunteer at a free medical clinic.

While at Whitman, Fuchs has mentored two at-risk boys as part of the Friends of Walla Walla program.

Fuchs, who was home schooled before coming to Whitman, is the son of Dr. Axel Fuchs and Valerie Fuchs of La Center