41 UM student-athletes win Big Ten academic award

Posted: 07.15.2010 at 4:04 PM

New Lothrop's White one of the recipients

The Big Ten Conference office announced today (Thursday, July 15) the list of Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients with 41 University of Michigan student-athletes receiving the prestigious designation. The list of 2010 scholars includes 26 female and 15 male representatives across 16 sports.

PARK RIDGE, IL -- “We are very proud of this elite group of student-athletes who were honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars,” Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dave Brandon said. “Their accomplishments in the classroom, along with their athletic achievements, should be commended. They put a lot of time and effort into their studies and deserve to be recognized for their dedication as a Michigan student-athlete.”

The honor, in its second year of existence, is based upon the grade-point average (GPA) from the previous academic year only, compared to the Academic All-Big Ten honorees who are selected based on cumulative GPA. To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and have earned a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous fall and winter semesters. Graduate students are also eligible, as long as he/she did not graduate before completing the two 2009-10 semesters.

The 2010 national champion men’s gymnastics team, along with the women’s track and field/cross country team both had eight members receive the distinction.

Seven Wolverines had perfect 4.00 GPAs during the past academic year with junior men’s gymnast Ben Baldus-Strauss (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South), senior pole vaulter Chris Baldwin (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview), senior women’s swimmer Emily Christy (Schwenksville, Pa./Spring-Ford Area Senior), senior men’s gymnast Phillip Goldberg (Dalton, Ga./McCallie), senior women’s gymnast Kelsey Knutson (Ames, Iowa/Ames), sophomore women’s soccer midfielder Courtney Mercier (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and senior women’s track/cross country runner Rachel Severin (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) being honored as U-M’s top scholars. Baldus-Strauss was the recipient of the inaugural Elite 88 award for men’s gymnastics, honoring the student-athlete at a finals site with the highest GPA.

Following is the list of 41 U-M Big Ten Distinguished Scholars:

Name, Sport(s)	Yr.	Major	Hometown
Benjamin Baldus-Strauss, Men’s gymnastics	Jr.	Biochemistry	Wheaton, Ill.
Chris Baldwin, Men’s Track and Field	Sr.	Psychology/Music	Battle Creek, Mich.
Courtney Beyer, Women’s Swimming and Diving	Sr.	Anthropology	Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Anthony Biondo, Wrestling	Sr.	English	Clinton Twp., Mich.
Eileen Brandes, Field Hockey	Jr.	Biology	Falmouth, Maine
Megan Bower, Volleyball	Sr.	Sociology	Indianapolis, Ind.
Richard Caldwell, Men’s Gymnastics	Sr.	Brain Behavior and Cognitive Sciences/Art and Design	Charlotte, N.C.
Jackie Carron, Women’s Soccer	Jr.	Biology	Rochester Hills, Mich.
Emily Christy, Women’s Swimming and Diving	Sr.	English/Education	Schwenksville, Pa.
Leigh Cole, Women’s Swimming and Diving	Sr.	BBCS	Ann Arbor, Mich.
Devan Cote, Men’s Gymnastics	Jr.	Biochemistry	Hollis, N.H.	j
Caitlin Dunphy-Daly, Women’s Swimming and Diving	Sr.	Sociology	Royal Oak, Mich.
Angela Findlay, Softball	Sr.	Psychology	Lockport, Ill.
Lindsey Gakenheimer, Women’s Track and Field	So.	Microbiology	Monroe, Mich.
Phillip Goldberg, Men’s Gymnastics	Sr.	Psychology	Dalton, Ga.
Lindsey Healey, Rowing	So.	Movement Science	Troy, Mich.
Kelsey Knutson, Women’s Gymnastics	Sr.	Political Science and Communications	Ames, Iowa
Jaclyn Kramer, Women’s Gymnastics	Sr.	Political Science	West Hills, N.Y.
Alex Jendrusch, Women’s Soccer	Sr.	Sport Management and International Studies	Troy, Mich.
Keenan Koss, Women’s Swimming and Diving	Sr.	Communications	Southport, Conn.
Torrance Laury, Men’s Gymnastics	Sr.	Biology	Marietta, Ga.
Joseph Levine, Men’s Gymnastics	Sr.	American Culture	Springfield, N.J.
Ian Makowski, Men’s Gymnastics	Jr.	English	Redding, Conn.
Ryan McCarthy, Men’s Gymnastics	Gr.	Kinesiology	Zionsville, Ind.
Michelle McMahon, Volleyball	So.	Spanish	Grand Rapids, Mich.
Courtney Mercier, Women’s Soccer	So.	Political Science	Erie, Pa.
Jenny Morgan, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Sr.	Anthropology	Clarkston, Mich.
Tony Nalli, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Sr.	Mechanical Engineering	Ann Arbor, Mich.
George Navas, Men’s Tennis	Sr.	Economics	Tampa, Fla.
Jennifer Neville, Women’s Track and Field	Jr.	Business	Dearborn, Mich.
Juliana Paz, Volleyball	Sr.	Communications	Porto Allegre, Brazil
Kaitlyn Peale, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Jr.	Industrial and Operational Engineering	Columbus, Ohio
Cassie Petoskey, Volleyball	Sr.	Psychology and Women’s Studies	Ann Arbor, Mich.
Vinnie Sarafa, Baseball	Sr.	Economics	Farmington Hills, Mich.
Andre Schultz, Men’s Swimming and diving	Sr.	Mathematics/Mathematical Sciences	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rachel Severin, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Sr.	Comparative Literature	Chelsea, Mich.
Kim Siebert, Women’s Soccer	So.	Movement Science	Troy, Mich.
Danielle Tauro, Women’s Track and Field	Jr.	Sport Management	Manahawkin, N.J.
Kyle Terpak, Men’s Track and Field	Sr.	Biochemistry	Riverview, Mich.
Rachel White, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Sr.	Public Policy	New Lothrop, Mich.
Alexandria Williams, Women’s Track and Field	So.	Women’s Studies	Wallingford, Pa.
BOLD indicates 4.0 GPA

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