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FOUR TECH STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED SPRING GSC ALL-ACADEMIC
TEAM SELECTIONS; 23 NAMED TO SPRING ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
RUSSELLVILLE,
Arkansas
–
Arkansas Tech University placed four student-athletes on
the 2008 Gulf South Conference Spring All-Academic Teams
that were released by the conference on Tuesday. In
addition, 23 Tech student-athletes were named to the
GSC’s Spring Academic Honor Roll.
The GSC Spring All-Academic team consists of 83
student-athletes from the conference’s 15-member
institutions and is split into six teams consisting of
the league’s spring sports – men’s and women’s golf,
softball, baseball and men’s and women’s tennis.
Meanwhile, 425 student-athletes with a cumulative grade
point average of 3.00 qualified for the Spring Academic
Honor Roll.
The All-Academic GSC teams are selected by the GSC
Sports Information Directors and Faculty Athletic
Representatives in a joint vote. The nominees must have
an overall grade point average of 3.20 or better for
their entire academic career and may not be freshmen or
first-semester or quarter transfers. The student-athlete
needed to be a significant contributor to the team.
Other factors included leadership, community service and
extra-curricular activities. The SIDs and FARs were not
allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Tech student-athletes named to the All-Academic teams in
their respective sports were senior leftfielder
Jantzen Black (Baseball), sophomore Jonathon
Spikes (Men’s Golf), junior Danielle Lewis
(Women’s Golf) and senior Whitney Simmons
(Women’s Tennis). Black was a First-Team All-GSC West
Division selection, while Simmons was a repeat
Second-Team All-GSC West Division selection this past
spring.
“I am extremely proud of
our student-athletes that were recognized for their
academic success by the Gulf South Conference,” Tech
Athletic Director Steve Mullins said. “It just
shows the dedication and commitment that our
student-athletes have made to be not only the best in
their sport, but also the best in the classroom.”
Black,
a native of Greenwood, Ark., recently completed his
senior campaign at the Tech and has a 3.20 cumulative
grade point average in history education. Black, who was
a First-Team All-GSC West Division and a First-Team
Rawlings/ABCA All-South Central Region selection, earns
All-Academic Team honors after leading Tech and the GSC
with a .452 batting average. On the season, Black, who
is a four-time member of the GSC Academic Honor Roll and
was named Tech’s 2007-08 Outstanding Senior Male
Student-Athlete of the Year, had 71 hits in 157 at-bats
and added 18 doubles, four triples, four home runs and
37 RBIs. He finishes his Tech career as the school’s
all-time leader in at-bats (701) and is second in career
hits (230) and runs scored (143) and finished third in
career doubles (49) and total bases (342). During this
past season, Black had a school-record 30-game hitting
streak, which is the fourth longest streak in GSC
history and also holds the school and GSC record with 11
hits in a 11 consecutive at-bats.
Spikes,
a native of Danville, Ark., earns All-Academic honors
after posting a 3.51 cumulative grade point average in
health and physical education. On the season, Spikes,
who was a Second-Team All-GSC selection as a freshman in
2007, finished this past season with a 76.3 scoring
average in 17 rounds of golf and eight tournaments. He
had four Top 10 finishes, including a fourth-place
finish at the Natural State Golf Classic, where he shot
a three-under par score of 141. In addition, Spikes
finished 25th at the 2008 GSC Championship Meet and is a
two-time member of the GSC Academic Honor Roll.
Lewis,
a native of Toronto, Ont., earns All-Academic team
honors in women’s golf after posting a 3.44 cumulative
grade point average in management and marketing. On the
season, Lewis, who was a Second-Team All-GSC selection
as a sophomore in 2007, recorded an 88.3 scoring average
in 16 rounds of golf and eight tournaments. She had two
Top 10 finishes and also had two Top 25 finishes,
including a tie for 25th place at the 2008 GSC
Championship Meet. Lewis, who is a three-time member of
the Academic Honor Roll, helped the Golden Suns finish
the season by receiving five votes in the final Golf
World/NGCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.
Simmons,
a native of Pottsville, Ark., returns to the
All-Academic Women’s Tennis team this season after being
selected to the team as a sophomore in 2005-06. Simmons,
who was a three-time All-GSC West Division selection,
finished her senior campaign with a 3.46 cumulative
grade point average in health and physical education. On
the season, Simmons, who helped lead Tech to its
first-ever berth in the GSC Tennis Tournament this year,
recorded a 16-7 record in singles play, including going
7-5 at No. 6 and 6-1 at the No. 5 singles spot and was
14-9 in doubles action. She finished her Tech career
with 48 career singles wins, including winning 26 of
those matches the past two seasons. She finishes her
career at Tech as a four-time member of the GSC Academic
Honor Roll.
Meanwhile, the Academic
Honor Roll selections from Tech included three baseball
players, four men’s golfers, four women’s golfers, five
softball and seven women’s tennis players.
Listed below are the GSC
Academic Honor Roll student-athletes from Tech.
Baseball
– sophomore outfielder Jeremy Houchin
(Springdale, Ark.), 3.37 GPA in mechanical engineering;
freshman outfielder Tyler Tate (Fort Smith,
Ark.), 3.19 GPA in business; and Black.
Men’s Golf –
sophomore Ryan Hitt (Allen, Texas), 3.00 GPA in
economics, sophomore Lucas Ott (Yellville, Ark.),
3.69 GPA as an undeclared major; junior Taylor
Wallner (Fayetteville, Ark.), 3.46 GPA in
history/political science; and Spikes.
Women’s Golf –
freshman Whitney
Hicks (Sheridan, Ark.), 3.78 GPA as an undeclared
major; freshman Kyla McIsaac (Kentville, Nova
Scotia), 3.13 GPA in history; freshman Ana Morales
(Bogota, Columbia), 3.67 GPA in fisheries/wildlife and
biology; and Lewis.
Softball –
freshman infielder Jessica Fields (Springdale,
Ark.), 3.40 GPA as an undeclared major; sophomore third
baseman Taylor Gates (Paris, Texas), 3.76 GPA in
music education; freshman second baseman Shanda
Jimeson (Mansfield, Texas), 3.50 GPA in hospitality
management; freshman first baseman Tiphani Moon
(Euless, Texas), 3.07 GPA as an undeclared major; and
senior shortstop Molly Schweigert (Salem, Ore.),
3.05 GPA in psychology.
Women’s Tennis –
junior Kristen
Brown (Winona, Texas), 3.11 GPA in middle level
education; junior Anna Carson (Fort Smith, Ark.),
3.25 GPA in geology; freshman Jessica James (Lead
Hill, Ark.), 3.77 GPA in journalism; freshman Saki
Matsuoka (Saitama, Japan), 3.15 GPA in management
and marketing; senior Puja Paul (Kolkata, West
Bengal India), 3.39 GPA in accounting; freshman
Michelle Yu (Flower Mound, Texas), 3.20 GPA in
accounting; and Simmons.
2008 GSC
Spring All-Academic Team and Academic Honor
Roll
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