CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A trio of America East basketball student-athletes who also won championships with their respective teams earned national academic honors as announced on Friday. University of Vermon's Evan Fjeld was one of 11 men's basketball standouts on the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team, while America East women's basketball players accounted for twenty-percent of the women's Scholar-Athlete Team. UMBC junior Michelle Kurowski and University of Hartford senior Mary Silvia were two of 10 national women's honorees.
Silvia and the Hawks won the 2011 America East Women's Basketball Championship crown, while Fjeld and Kurowski were members of the America East men's and women's basketball regular-season championship teams. All three played in postseason tournaments.
Fjeld had a big senior year for the Catamounts, leading the team in
scoring (14.5 ppg), blocks (58) and field goal percentage (54.3 percent). He
was named to the America East All-Conference First Team, as well as
all-district by the USBWA and NABC. The America East Fans' Choice Player
of the Year, Fjeld also led the league in both field goal percentage
and blocks per game (1.9). With 14 points in a win over Stony Brook on
February 6, he became the 30th Catamount in team history to top 1,000
points for his career.
Silvia earned a spot on the 2011 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America District I First Team and is a two-time member of the America East All-Academic Team. The native of Reading, Massachusetts capped off her career by leading Hartford in scoring with 8.9 points per game and finishing fourth in school history with 122 three-pointers made. In 2011, Silvia was also first on the team with 36.5 three-point percentage and third in field-goal percentage (37.8 percent).
Kurowski, a Hicksville, N.Y. native, finished second in America East with 14.6 points per game and entered the 1,000-point club this season. A first-team All-Conference selection, Kurowski led the league in free-throw percentage (.894) and ranked eighth in steals (1.9 spg). She earned Capital One Academic All-District II First Team distinction earlier this season and plans to receive her undergraduate degree this spring after just three years, and then pursue a master's degree next year.
"The Division I-AAA ADA wants to extend its congratulations to the
student-athletes for their outstanding academic and athletics
achievements," stated Tim Hall, chair of the Division
I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee and athletics
director at the University of Missouri Kansas City. "These award winners
epitomize what it means to be a student-athlete and we share the joy of
acknowledging their momentous accomplishments."
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions
are eligible for these prestigious awards. Each of the nominees was
required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale)
in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve
with legitimate athletics credentials. He/she must have reached junior
athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution (true
freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletics transfers are not
eligible) and have completed at least three academic semesters/five
quarters at the nominated institution. Nominated student-athletes must
have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games listed on
the nomination form.
About Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its 10th year, the
Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance
initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the Division I
institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects
related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on
the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com.
The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of
Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 45th year.
For more information on NACDA and the 11 professional associations that
fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
| Men's Scholar-Athlete Team |
| Name |
Instituion |
GPA |
Major |
| Benjamin Botts |
IPFW |
3.61 |
Business Management |
| Dorian Dunson |
Bradley |
3.67 |
Social Work |
| Evan Fjeld |
Vermont |
3.23 |
Business Administration |
| Graham Hatch |
Wichita State |
3.67 |
Chemistry |
| Tony Meier |
Wisconsin Milwaukee |
3.64 |
Business |
| Mick Hedgepeth |
Belmont |
3.71 |
Accounting |
| Kaleb Korver |
Creighton |
3.40 |
Business Management |
| Greg Logins |
Canisius |
3.48 |
Sport Administration |
| Ryan Olander |
Fairfield |
3.63 |
Marketing |
| Brian Stafford |
Denver |
3.73 |
Finance |
| Steve Weingarten |
LaSalle |
3.86 |
History & American Studies |
|
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mick Hedgepeth
Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient: Steve Weingarten
| Women's Scholar-Athlete Team |
| Name |
Instituion |
GPA |
Major |
| Grace Blaylock |
North Carolina Asheville |
3.86 |
Health & Wellness Promotion
(Pre-med) |
| Brittany Carnago |
Oakland |
3.90 |
Sociology & Biology |
| Courtney Chihil |
Florida Gulf Coast |
3.86 |
Nursing |
| Keisha Hampton |
DePaul |
3.26 |
Communications & Media |
| Celeste Hoewisch |
Wisconsin Green Bay |
3.40 |
Human Biology |
| Michelle Kurowski |
Maryland Baltimore County |
3.82 |
Psychology |
| Joelle Nawrocki |
Fairfield |
3.32 |
Business Management |
| Sam Quigley |
DePaul |
3.54 |
Physical Education/Health
Endorsement |
| Mary Silvia |
Hartford |
3.93 |
Entrepreneurial Studies &
Economics |
| Kayla Tetschlag |
Wisconsin Green Bay |
3.80 |
Business Administration |
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kayla Tetschlag
Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient: Brittany Carnago |
|