DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University women's tennis senior Hannah Gaines has been named the NCCU Student-Athlete of the Month for May 2022 in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments on the court and in the classroom.
 
Gaines was a multiple-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and MEAC All-Academic Team performer for the Eagles before being celebrated with the University Award for Academic Excellence, which honors students who earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 during the spring 2022 graduation commencement.
 
The four-year letter winner won 10 singles matches at NCCU in a collegiate career that limited on the court due to the coronavirus pandemic and injuries.
 
As a senior, Gaines earned the NCCU athletics Chancellor's Award (highest cumulative GPA by a senior student-athlete) and NCCU women's tennis Eagle Excellence Award to go along with her third ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and her multiple MEAC All-Academic Team and MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team accolades.
 
In her time at NCCU, Gaines was a tennis coach for StrongHER TogetHER, President of the student organization The Bridge: Science Outreach in the Community, an intern for the School of Law and an attendee to a round table discussion with the U.S. Department of Education. She was a finalist for the Chancellor Award for Truth and Service.
 
Gaines graduated summa cum laude from NCCU in May of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and she also has a certificate in computational biology from Harvard Medical School. Gaines is currently taking a gap year before she plans to enter law school to become a sports and entertainment lawyer.
 
For a complete list of award winners, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.