Illinois State University announced on Apr. 29 that Silvia Pomarolli has been named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2026. Pomarolli was also recognized with MVC Elite 18 honors at the MVC Tennis Championship and holds a cumulative grade-point average of 3.97 as a psychology major.
Pomarolli’s recognition highlights academic and athletic achievement within Illinois State Redbirds athletics, which is linked to Illinois State University according to the official website. She was joined on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team by teammates Lana Caculovic and Nicole Iosio.
Pomarolli completed her senior season with All-MVC Second-Team honors, finishing with a 5-2 record in conference play at both No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions, as well as a season singles record of 19-9. She also posted a doubles record of 5-2 at the No.1 spot alongside partners Caculovic and Vittoria Benedetti.
Caculovic, who maintains a GPA of 3.71 in cybersecurity, played mainly at No.1 singles for Illinois State Redbirds during her senior year, achieving a doubles mark of 13-9 overall including four wins during conference play with Pomarolli and Emma Lindh.
Iosio earned First-Team All-MVC honors in doubles alongside Nuria Sanz and Second-Team All-MVC selection at No.4 singles while maintaining a GPA of 3.91 in biological sciences as a sophomore from Italy.
The Redbirds recently won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship and are set to face Michigan in Ann Arbor during the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Saturday at noon Central Time.
Illinois State Redbirds benefits from resources such as news, schedules, rosters, fan engagement tools according to their official website. The athletics program also draws support from initiatives like the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund for competitiveness and recruitment according to their official website and utilizes facilities such as OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for student-athlete preparation according to their official website. The program competes in NCAA Division I events across various regions according to their official website.
