Southland Announces Commissioner’s Honor Roll for 2014 Spring Semester
Southland Conference
2014 Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll (PDF)
FRISCO, Texas – A record total of 1,253 student-athletes have been named to the Southland Conference Commissioner’s 2014 Spring Academic Honor Roll, the league office announced Tuesday.
This year’s list boasts 11 student-athletes of the year, 10 players of the year and a total of 210 student-athletes with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages during the spring semester. The honor roll includes student-athletes who took part in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field.
UIW led all Southland institutions with 123 honorees and had 17 student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. Leading the Cardinals are four academic all-district honorees including one who was tabbed to the Capital One Academic All-America Third Team. Women’s basketball player Ify Mora was tabbed third team All-America after posting a perfect 4.00 in biology. The senior from Grand Prairie, Texas, was joined by her twin sister Kosy Mora on the All-District 7 team. Kosy also posted a 4.00 in biology in her senior season. Junior softball player Taylor Johnson earned all-district with a 3.98 GPA in biology. For the men, senior baseball player Jason Stone was selected to the Academic All-District 7 team with a 3.84 in vision science.
McNeese placed 120 members on the honor roll with a league-high 21 student-athlete carrying a 4.0 GPA. McNeese was led by four student-athletes of the year for their respective sports and two players of the year. Allison Baggett (women’s basketball), Jasmine Cornelius (women’s indoor track and field), Allana Divittorio (softball) and Kevin Hardy (men’s basketball) were tabbed student-athletes of the year while Divittorio was named softball player of the year and Jasmine Webb was tabbed women’s indoor and outdoor track and field athlete of the year. Baggett posted 3.37 GPA in nursing, Cornelius recorded a perfect 4.00 in biological sciences, Divittorio notched a 3.62 GPA in civil engineering, Hardy earned a 3.05 electric engineering and Webb had a 3.64 GPA in general business.
Lamar had 106 student-athletes on the honor roll with 12 posting a 4.0 GPA. The Cardinals were highlighted by track and field athlete Sam Stabler, who was tabbed the student-athlete of the year in both indoor and outdoor and was athlete of the year during the indoor season. Stabler, a junior from Queniborough, England, posted a 3.00 in chemical engineering. Leading the way for the Lady Cardinals were six golfers for the league champions. The Lady Cardinals won their fifth team championship this season and had three all-conference selections named to the honor roll with sophomore Taylor Stockton, junior Nghi Ngo and freshman Bertille DuPont. Stockton posted a 3.80 in accounting, Ngo notched a 3.00 in communication and DuPont had a 4.00 in chemical engineering.
Houston Baptist is the only other school to have at least 100 student-athletes make the honor with 100, including 20 with a 4.0 GPA. Of the 20 student-athletes with a 4.0, nine participated on the track and field team. For the men, sophomore Garrison Fick notched a 4.00 in management and David Hicks had one in kinesiology. Seven female track and field athletes had a perfect GPA with Abbe Adams doing so in management, Bria Guerin in kinesiology, Kourtney Lofton in journalism and mass communications, Carolyn McClanahan in kinesiology, Taylor Thomas in athletic training and Jessica Whitt in elementary education.
Central Arkansas placed 96 members on the honor roll with 12 student-athletes carrying a 4.0 GPA. Men’s golfer Pep Angles headlines the Bears. Angles, who posted a 3.60 GPA in management information systems, was tabbed the league’s golfer of the year and named the sport’s student-athlete of the year. Women’s basketball player Courtney Duever made the honor roll for the Sugar Bears. Duever, the player of the year in her sport, had a 3.60 GPA in early childhood education.
Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin each had 94 members on the honor roll. The Lions had 13 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA led by women’s tennis player Renee Villareal, who posted a 4.0 in finance. Villareal was named first team all-conference, first team all-academic and first team Academic All-District. Junior baseball player Andrew Godbold, who posted a 3.00 in general studies, helped lead the Lions to their first league tournament title and a berth in the NCAA postseason on his way to being named the league’s newcomer of the year. The Lions baseball team also had three players with a perfect GPA. Sophomore Brennan Catalano earned one in kinesiology while seniors Dylan Hills and Matt Pittari posted a 4.00 in industrial technology and general studies, respectively.
SFA had 20 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA, including senior men’s basketball player Desmond Haymon, who earned a 4.0 in kinesiology. Haymon helped lead the Lumberjacks to a perfect 18-0 regular-season record and a berth to the NCAA tournament after clinching the league’s tournament title. The Lumberjacks defeated VCU in the second round to tournament and became the first Southland team to advance past the Round of 64 since Northwestern State in 2006. Also earning a spot on the honor roll from the men’s basketball team was junior Jacob Parker. The league’s player of the year, Parker posted a 3.13 in kinesiology.
Sam Houston State placed 88 student-athletes on the honor roll with 15 members recording a 4.0 GPA. Senior baseball player Anthony Azar led the way for the Bearkats, posting a 3.21 GPA in geology. Azar was tabbed the sport’s player and student-athlete of the year. Women’s outdoor track and field athlete Lygia Foreman also received a spot on the honor roll after earning a 3.75 GPA in kinesiology. Foreman was tabbed women’s outdoor track and field student-athlete of the year.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which had 18 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA, had 84 selections to the commissioner’s list, including baseball player Russell Vaughan and men’s tennis player Peter Nagy. Vaughan posted a 3.80 GPA in health sciences and was lone league baseball player to earn Capital One Academic All-America honors. Nagy was named the men’s tennis player of the year and earned a 3.50 in university studies.
Abilene Christian had 16 of its 77 honor roll selections post a 4.0 GPA. Men’s basketball player Parker Wentz, a Capital One All-District 7 pick, posted a 3.75 GPA in biology. The Wildcats also had seven track and field athletes post a perfect 4.0 GPA with Daniel Block (convergence journalism), Erik Forrister (physics), Andrew Hudson (liberal studies) and Reid Rivers (ministry and vocation) on the men’s side, and Landa Dowdy (social studies education), Michaela Hackett (management) and McKenzie Walker (nursing) for the women.
Northwestern State and New Orleans both had 71 honor roll student-athletes. Northwestern had 17 student-athletes post a 4.0 GPA led by women’s tennis players Natalya Krutova and Daniela Simonova, both of whom earned a perfect GPA in biology. Krutova was also named to the Academic All-District 6 At-Large team.
UNO had nine student-athletes earn a 4.0 GPA. Senior baseball player Reese Kanter posted a 4.0 in business management on his way to earning a spot on the baseball all-academic team. Kantar was one of 18 UNO baseball players to earn a spot on the honor roll, the most out of any team for the Privateers.
Nicholls had seven of its 65 members earn a 4.0 GPA. The Colonels are highlighted by sophomore men’s tennis player Nico Mertens, who posted a 3.78 in business administration. Mertens also was named men’s tennis student-athlete of the year. On the women’s side, junior basketball player Jenny Nash, an Academic All-District 6 selection, posted a 3.50 GPA in mathematics.
Of the 64 Golden Eagles to appear on the honor roll, eight had a 4.0 GPA during the spring semester. Men’s tennis player Parker Allen, an Academic All-District 7 selection, led the way for the ORU men, posting a 3.75 GPA in management. All-conference women’s golfer Shinwoo Lee, an exploratory major, was one of the eight Golden Eagles to post a 4.00.
The Southland Conference Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll acknowledges participants in all sports sponsored by the league and its member institutions. The honor roll is released within 30 days at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, recognizing student-athletes who maintained a minimum 3.00 GPA. Student-athletes, nominated by their respective academic advisors, must have been eligible to compete in a conference sport during the academic year in which the nomination occurs.