SAN FRANCISCO - USC’s Gabby Smith was named the Pac-12 Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year and UCLA’s Martin Redlicki was tabbed the Pac-12 Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2018 season, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes who are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Smith (Henderson, Nev.), a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team member, maintains a 3.49 grade-point average (GPA) in accounting. Smith is the female recipient of the Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship and will begin her graduate studies in BYU’s accountancy tax master’s program in the fall. The 2017 All-Pac-12 First Team performer and 2016 ITA Doubles All-American has been a top-50 national player in singles this year. She has posted a 22-13 singles record highlighted by victories over five opponents ranked in the ITA top 16. Smith teamed with Becca Weissmann at the No. 2 doubles position, to post an 11-8 overall record this year, totaling 52 dual match victories in her career.

Redlicki (Boca Raton, Fla.) has amassed 105 singles wins and 81 doubles victories during his career at UCLA while maintaining a 3.61 GPA as a double major in political science and communications. Currently the No. 1-ranked singles player in country, Redlicki is 20-5 on the season and 11-3 in dual matches while boasting an impressive 16-4 mark against ranked opponents. The senior is in line for a third Pac-12 All-Academic Team honor and fourth ITA Scholar-Athlete selection. Redlicki paired with Evan Zhu as UCLA’s No. 1 doubles team for an 11-4 overall record this season. Ridlicki was part of the tandem that won Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year last season as well as in 2016 when he and his partner were crowned NCAA Doubles Champions. A three-time All-Pac-12 performer and ITA Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2015, Redlicki is the fifth Burin in program history to receive Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2008-09 academic year.

Smith, Redlicki and the rest of the Pac-12 will all be competing this week at the 2018 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship in Ojai, Calif. The Pac-12 Men’s Championship will be held at Libbey Park in Ojai for all rounds, while the Pac-12 women will play the first two rounds plus the semifinals at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club and Weil Tennis Academy, with the championship match taking place at Libbey Park. Full Championship details are available at Pac-12.com/tennischamps.

Also Nominated Women: Devin Chypyha, ARIZ; Nicole Fossa Huergo, ASU; Karla Popovic, CAL; Kyra Wojcik, COLO; Terri Fleming, UCLA; Jena Cheng, UTAH;  Miki Kobayashi, WASH; Barbora Michalkova, WSU.

Also Nominated Men: Trent Botha, ARIZ; Michaël Geerts, ASU; Akihiro Tanaka, ORE; Tom Fawcett, STAN; Thibault Forget, USC; Santiago Sierra, UTAH; Mitch Stewart, WASH.