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Men's Tennis Joe Browning

Groom Collects CAA's Top Academic Honor

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Senior men's tennis standout Daniel Groom of UNCW has been named the 2019-20 Colonial Athletic Association Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year presented by SonaBank.

Groom has compiled a sterling 3.785 grade point average in Business Administration, with a concentration in finance. The native of Tasmania, Australia, is a four-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award and has made the Dean's List during five terms at UNCW.

Groom becomes only the third male athlete from UNCW to receive the honor. He joins men's swimming and diving freestyler Michael Krayer (2005-06) and men's soccer defender Colin Bonner (2015-16) on the elite list.

"We're so pleased that Daniel is receiving this award," said Mait DuBois, UNCW's head men's tennis coach. Voting was conducted by the CAA's Academic Affairs Committee. "To be chosen from every athlete in the CAA is a huge honor and he's very deserving. Daniel does everything at a very high level and always displays the highest level of character.

"Daniel works extremely hard in academics and athletics and is widely respected for his sportsmanship when he competes. He's been an exceptional player, leader and person on our team. He makes the people around him better by the example he sets. I'm very excited to see what future holds for him."

Groom received the Duke of Edinburg International Award, which is presented to young people who develop skills, get physically active, give service and experience an adventure. He also completed certifications with Bloomberg and Envestnet Wealth Management to enhance his finance portfolio. In addition, Groom has been a member of UNCW's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was part of a volunteer effort by the Seahawks' men's tennis team with the Red Cross during Hurricane Florence.

On the court, Groom competed at the No. 5 singles position for the teams that captured back-to-back CAA championships in 2017 and 2018 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. In 2018-19, he was selected to Second-Team All-CAA and was honored as UNCW's Most Valuable Team Member.

Last fall, Groom and doubles partner Bruno Caula were ranked No. 36 in the final Oracle ITA Division I Men's Tennis National Fall Rankings. The tandem enjoyed an outstanding fall season that included a victory over the No. 11 Duke duo of Sean Sculley and Nick Sachowiak. Groom and Caula were the only team from the CAA in the rankings.
 
In the final match of his collegiate career, Groom teamed up with Caula to upset No. 31 Jakub Wojcik and Rithvik Bollipalli of USF, 6-3.
 
Groom earlier received an invitation to compete in the 2019 Oracle ITA Masters Tournament last September at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He earned the invitation after posting the highest UTR rating among the CAA's returning players.
Each of the conference's 10 institutions submitted a nominee for the CAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and each nominee will be recognized with a crystal award. In honor of his accomplishment, Groom will receive a $1,000 stipend along with the award.

2019-20 CAA Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Honorees
UNCW | Daniel Groom, Men's Tennis
Charleston | Kristopher Kuhn, Baseball
Delaware | Thomas Aloe, Men's Lacrosse
Drexel | Connor Schmidt, Men's Golf
Elon | Mike Borucki, Baseball
Hofstra | Tareq Coburn, Men's Basketball
James Madison | Fox Semones, Baseball
Northeastern | Josh Winkler, Baseball
Towson | Jacob McLean, Men's Lacrosse
William & Mary | Brandon Raquet, Baseball



 
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Players Mentioned

Bruno Caula

Bruno Caula

6' 2"
Sophomore
Daniel Groom

Daniel Groom

5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Bruno Caula

Bruno Caula

6' 2"
Sophomore
Daniel Groom

Daniel Groom

5' 9"
Senior