Fifty-Four U-M Student-Athletes Receive Big Ten Scholar Award
7/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | General, Academic Success Program
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference office announced today (Wednesday, July 15) the inaugural list of Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients, with 54 University of Michigan student-athletes receiving the prestigious designation.
"We are proud of the academic accomplishments of our Big Ten Distinguished Scholars," said Athletic Director Bill Martin. "They compete hard in the classroom and in the arena and we applaud all of their success. They devote a lot of time and energy to their academic and athletic pursuits and it is great to have them recognized."
The honor 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 2008-09 semesters.
The list of 2009 scholars, 29 female and 25 male representatives, constitutes 11 percent of the student-athlete population at the University of Michigan. The women's track and field/cross country teams combined to have nine representatives receive the distinction, followed closely by the men's gymnastics squad (eight members). The women's swimming and diving and men's track and field/cross country teams each have six honorees.
Senior pole vaulter Chris Baldwin (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS), sophomore men's gymnast Devan Cote (Hollis, N.H./Hollis-Brookline HS) and senior cross country runner Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ont.,Canada/St. Patrick's HS) were the top scholars for U-M this past academic year, attaining 4.0 grade-point averages.
Following is the list of 54 U-M Big Ten Distinguished Scholars:
| Name, Sport(s) | Yr. | Major | Hometown |
| Benjamin Baldus-Strauss, Men's Gymnastics | So. | Biochemistry | Wheaton, Ill. |
| Chris Baldwin, Men's Track & Field | Sr. | Psychology | Battle Creek, Mich. |
| Courtney Beyer, Women's Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Anthropology | Los Altos, Calif. |
| John Black, Men's Cross Country, Track & Field | Sr. | History | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. |
| Eileen Brandes, Field Hockey | So. | Biology | Falmouth, Maine |
| Scott Bregman, Men's Gymnastics | Sr. | English | Lawrence, Kan. |
| Richard Caldwell, Men's Gymnastics | Sr. | Art & Design/Brain, Behavior & Cognitive Sciences | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Emily Christy, Women's Swimming & Diving | Jr. | English-Secondary Education | Schwenksville, Pa. |
| Leigh Cole, Women's Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Psychology | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Karen Colwell, Women's Rowing | Sr. | Physical Education | Pawcatuck, Conn. |
| Sarah Conkle, Women's Track & Field | Sr. | Civil Engineering | Bellaire, Mich. |
| Jon Conover, Football | Sr. | Political Science | Northville, Mich. |
| Devan Cote, Men's Gymnastics | So. | Biochemistry | Hollis, N.H. |
| Curtis Dauw, Men's Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Nuclear Engineering | St. Charles, Ill. |
| Lyndsay DeCarolis, Women's Soccer | So. | Environment And Spanish | Corvallis, Ore. |
| Chris Douville, Men's Swimming & Diving | So. | Chemical Engineering | Dayton, Ohio |
| Caitlin Dunphy-Daly, Women's Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Sociology | Royal Oak, Mich. |
| Brandon Fellows, Men's Cross Country, Track & Field | Sr. | Business | Mercer Island, Wash. |
| Angela Findlay, Softball | Jr. | Psychology | Lockport, Ill. |
| Phillip Goldberg, Men's Gymnastics | Sr. | Psychology | Dalton, Ga. |
| Will Heininger, Football | Jr. | Sport Management | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Payton Johnson, Women's Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Biomedical Engineering | Champaign, Ill. |
| Beth Karpiak, Women's Volleyball | Sr. | Political Science | LaGrange, Ill. |
| Kelsey Knutson, Women's Gymnastics | Jr. | Political Science/Communications | Ames, Iowa |
| Alyson Kohlmeier, Women's Cross Country | Sr. | Biology | Sarnia, Ont., Canada |
| Keenan Koss, Women's Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Communications | Southport, Conn. |
| Jaclyn Kramer, Women's Gymnastics | Jr. | Political Science | West Hills, N.Y. |
| Torrance Laury, Men's Gymnastics | Jr. | Biology | Marietta, Ga. |
| Michael Luginbill, Men's Track & Field | Sr. | Mechanical Engineering | Troy, Mich. |
| Ian Makowske, Men's Gymnastics | So. | English | Redding, Conn. |
| Jamie Martone, Men's Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Public Policy | Troy, Mich. |
| Jennifer McCoy, Women's Track & Field | So. | Spanish | Kensington, Md. |
| Zoltan Mesko, Football | Sr. | Business Administration | Twinsburg, Ohio |
| Katie Miler, Women's Soccer | Sr. | Political Science | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jennifer Morgan, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field | Jr. | Anthropology | Clarkston, Mich |
| Michela Musto, Women's Rowing | Sr. | Statistics/Sociology | Ada, Mich. |
| Tony Nalli, Men's Cross Country, Track & Field | Sr. | Mechanical Engineering | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Alison Nesbitt, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field | Sr. | Business | Essexville, Mich. |
| Kaitlyn Peale, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field | So. | Industrial Engineering | Columbus, Ohio |
| Andrea Ratigan, Women's Golf | Jr. | Psychology | Tucson, Ariz. |
| Kelly Sampson, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field | Sr. | Public Policy | Detroit, Mich. |
| John Sawiki, Men's Gymnastics | Sr. | Civil Engineering | Westfield, N.J. |
| Bobby Savulich, Men's Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Sociology | Edison, N.J. |
| Andre Schultz, Men's Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Mathematics | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Ryan Selley, Wrestling | Jr. | Neuroscience | Linden, Mich. |
| Adam Shaw, Men's Soccer | So. | Physical Education | Lone Tree, Colo. |
| Christina Solomon, Women's Track & Field | Sr. | Psychology | Bellaire, Mich. |
| Carrie Stover, Water Polo | Sr. | Philosophy | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Kate Strzalkowski, Women's Rowing | Sr. | History | St. Catharines, Ont., Canada |
| Danielle Tauro, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field | So. | Undecided | Manahawkin, N.J. |
| Kyle Terpak, Men's Track & Field | Jr. | Biochemistry | Riverview, Mich. |
| Kristin Thomas, Women's Soccer | Sr. | Movement Science | Centennial, Colo. |
| Tyrel Todd, Wrestling | Sr. | Secondary Education/History | Bozeman, Mont. |
| Caitlin Trumble, Women's Rowing | Sr. | Political Science | Dalkeith, Australia |
