Forty-One Student-Athletes Receive Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award
7/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Academic Success Program
July 15, 2010
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- 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.
"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 |
| Ben 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. |
| Kent 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. |
| 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 Healy, 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. |
| Joe Levine, Men's Gymnastics | Sr. | American Culture | Springfield, N.J. |
| Ian Makowske, 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 Alegre, 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
Media Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
