Honoring excellence in the classroom and on the tennis court, four individuals from the University of Rochester men's tennis team have received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® accolades for the 2024-25 season.
 
Earning the recognition from Rochester are senior Krish Vennam, juniors Kavin Shukla and Surya Rajamani and sophomore Ethan Samora.
 
The 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District® Men's Tennis Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must have competed in at least 70 percent of an institution's days of competition.
 
Samora recently completed his sophomore campaign with the Yellowjackets, appearing in 17 total dual matches, across either singles or doubles play. He finished with a 4-4 record in singles and 6-9 mark in doubles. He played all over the Yellowjackets lineup, mostly playing #5 or #6 singles and #3 doubles. Towards the later part of the season, Samora earned three consecutive straight-set wins against Houghton, Oneonta and Oswego State, aiding UR in posting team victories. In doubles play, the sophomore picked up victories against regional foes RIT, St. Lawrence and Union.
 
Away from the sport, Samora is majoring in Computational Biology and Statistics at the University, minoring in Spanish. He is a part of the Society for Undergraduate Biology Students and received the Deans Scholarship and Greene Education Center Grant while also being named UAA All-Academic and an ITA Scholar Athlete. Next semester, Samora will begin research with Dr. Nicandri at the UR Medical Center and is going to be an intern with Dr. Liu at University Hospitals this summer. Throughout his time at the University, Samora has been a volunteer with Heart-to-Heart Food Pantry, Buddy-Up Tennis and UR's Wilson Day Projects, among others.
 
For Shukla, his season saw him compete in 16 dual matches and two tournaments, ending with a 12-7 overall record in singles and 3-6 record in singles. The junior was Rochester's primary #4 player across singles play, reaching as high as number one in the order against Alfred in mid-April. Shukla had a string of six wins across seven matches from February 22 through April 11, including straight set wins over opponents from #36 Hamilton and #39 Stevens. In the fall, Shukla reached the third round of the ITA Northeast Regional Championship in singles.
 
Academically, Shukla is majoring in Finance and Statistics at Rochester, also minoring in Spanish. He received the Dean's Scholarship and is a member of the Meliora Finance & Investment Group (MelFIG) on the River Campus. A UAA All-Academic and previous Academic All-District honoree, Shukla has done internships with Raymond James, Aflac and Premium Merchant Funding, and will continue his exploits in the field at Robinhood this summer. His volunteer efforts including working in the mental health department at a local hospital in his hometown of Roslyn Heights, NY.
 
Vennam was Rochester's top singles player this season, logging six dual match wins and 11 wins overall during the 2024-campaign. In addition, the senior had a 5-9 doubles record and overall appeared in all 19 dual matches in either singles or doubles competition. This year, Vennam received Second Team All-UAA honors for his play on the court, being recognized for his efforts in singles play. That honor was the fourth straight season and fifth overall All-Association honor for the senior. Highlights from Vennam's season in 2024-25 include reaching the quarterfinals of the ITA Northeast Regional Championship and being regionally ranked individually by the ITA and NCAA.
 
For his efforts in the classroom, Vennam was highly decorated during his time at the University studying Computational Biology. This spring, the Stamford, CT native was elected Phi Beta Kappa, received the UR Athletics Peter DiPasquale Male Scholar-Athlete Award and was named UAA All-Academic for the third time. Additionally, Vennam has been an ITA Scholar Athlete and has been twice previously honored as a CSC Academic All-District recipient. The senior was also a Provost Circle Scholar and Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar-Athlete and has held research roles in labs at Rochester, Yale and Columbia. His off the court exploits include serving at the House of Mercy and being a volunteer tennis coach.
 
Rajamani received his first All-UAA award this season for his performance in doubles, primarily playing either first or second doubles for the Yellowjackets. The junior appeared in 16 total matches for Rochester, finishing with a 2-2 record in singles and 7-9 win-loss mark in doubles. His efforts included being a double-winner twice, coming against Union and Oswego State while also earning doubles play wins in regional matches against RIT, Houghton and Oneonta.
 
The junior is currently studying Finance at Rochester and has been awarded UAA All-Academic and ITA Scholar Athlete honors for two straight seasons. He received the Deans Scholarship and has been a Portfolio Manager and Analyst Director at the student-run Meliora Fund. Rajamani also is a part of the Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Medallion Program and has served on the Presidential Advisory Council. He has completed internships in the finance field at Lex Hills Capital and Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure and will complete another internship with Putnam Investments this summer. During his time back home in Massachusetts, Rajamani has done volunteer work at soup kitchens, nursing homes and food and clothing drives.
 
Academic All-District selections will be evaluated by a sub-committee and advanced to the national, All-America ballot, to be voted on by CSC members within their respective divisions.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's and women's tennis honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.