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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – The USTA today announced that Columbia University recruit Austen Huang of Elke Grove, Calif., and Princeton-bound Stephanie Schrage, of Milburn, N.J., were named the recipients of the 2017 USTA National Junior Scholar Athlete Award, honoring high school tennis players who best demonstrate that tennis is the sport of opportunity for education, advancement and character development. The two will be honored in September at the USTA Semi-Annual meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

“Austen’s and Stephanie’s achievements on the court, in the classroom and in the community truly make them exemplary leaders among their peers,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “They are both very deserving of this honor and have bright futures ahead of them at Ivy League schools.”

This is the sixth year the USTA has awarded its National Junior Scholar Athlete award. To qualify, students must have an unweighted GPA of 3.75 on a 4.0 scale and be ranked in the Top 100 of the USTA Boys’ or Girls’ 18s national standings. A written essay, as well as leadership and sportsmanship, were also considered. Excerpts from each player’s essay can be found in the link below.

Huang, a graduating senior studying online with Laurel Springs School, is ranked No. 16 in the USTA Boys’ 18s national standings and won the USTA National Winter Championships’ Boys’ 18s singles title in 2016, as a 16-year old. Huang has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, taking eight AP courses, and is an active volunteer tennis coach at a local club. He also volunteers as a piano player at a local senior center, and was a sportsmanship award recipient at the USTA Pro Circuit $25,000 Men’s Futures in Little Rock, Ark.

Schrage, set to graduate from Milburn High School in December, is currently No. 27 in the USTA Girls’ 18s national standings and has been ranked as the No. 1 girl in the USTA Eastern section. Schrage won the New Jersey state high school girls’ singles title in 2015 and helped lead Milburn to four straight state team titles. She has a 3.75 unweighted GPA, with five AP courses, and is an active volunteer at Dress for Success, helping low-income clients, as well as an action research participant to help create more job opportunities for low-income workers. Additionally, she won the sportsmanship award at the USTA Girls’ 16s National Championships.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network.For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.