ASC Announces Spring Distinguished Scholar-Athletes

5/27/2008 12:20:35 PM

RICHARDSON, Texas –– McMurry University baseball player Brent Voorhees, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor golfer Ryan Eastman, Texas Lutheran University golfer Carly Hansen and tennis player Alanna Gangemi, University of Texas at Dallas softball player Amber Griffin, Mississippi College tennis player Chas Dunn and track and field participant Rachel Hardin, and University of Texas at Tyler track and field participant R.J. Cowan have all earned the title of Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in their respective American Southwest Conference spring sport, the ASC office announced on Tuesday (May 27).

Overall, 68 student-athletes from ASC baseball, golf, softball, tennis and track and field teams were named to the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team.

The honor, in its first academic year, recognizes student-athletes that achieve a higher level of academic achievement (a 3.20 grade-point average or better) while competing as a starter or important reserve on their team. From that list – limited to one nominee per school in each ASC championship sport – the Sports Information Directors from the conference’s 15 member institutions vote on a Distinguished Scholar-Athlete from each sport.

Voorhees (Abilene, Texas), a senior mathematics major with a 3.91 GPA, was three-time academic all-conference selection and was an ESPN The Magazine academic all-district pick this season. Voorhees was a 2007 D3Baseball.com all-American and broke ASC career records for home runs (45) and RBI (196). He helped McMurry to ASC title and NCAA regional appearance by hitting .349 with 52 RBIs and10 homers.

Eastman (San Angelo, Texas), a senior Christian ministry major with a 3.43 GPA, was a First Team ASC All-Conference selection after leading the UMHB men to the conference title this spring. He tied for second place at the ASC Tournament and helped lead the Cru to its first NCAA Division III National Championships appearance. Ryan was the only ASC men’s golfer voted to the Cleveland/GCAA All-American Scholar-Athlete Team. He is a three-time ASC All-Conference selection and a three-time ASC Academic All-Conference pick.

Hansen (Colerain, Minn.), a sophomore physics major with a 3.45 GPA, was a Second Team ASC All-Conference pick after 10th-place finish at the conference championships this season. She won the 2008 TLU Concan Invitational and was named ASC Women's Golfer of the Week with rounds of 85 and 79. She sas earned All-ASC honors in her first two collegiate seasons. She led TLU to first-ever ASC conference championship and first-ever NCAA DIII Championships appearance, both in 2007.

Griffin (Richmond, Texas), a senior business administration major with a 3.81 GPA, finished a four-year UTD career by setting 18 school single-season and career offensive records, including a .474 single-season batting average in her final season. She was a career .421 hitter, hitting over .400 three of four years. Griffin was a First-Team selection to the 2008 District 6 Academic team. She was recently elected First Team All-ASC East Division and was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-West Region team.

Dunn (Brandon, Miss.), a junior business administration major with a 3.60 GPA, earned the title of ASC East Player of the Year in 2008 after finishing the season with a 15-3 singles record at the #1 position and a 15-2 doubles record with partner, Patrick Stanton. Dunn was also named to the All-ASC Team and the All-ASC East Division First Team. Dunn has compiled a 3.6 GPA in his three years at MC.

Gangemi (San Antonio, Texas), a senior psychology major with a 3.97 GPA, went 4-1 in ASC play at the No. 1 singles spot. She was a 2008 ASC West 2nd Team selection and is a three-time ASC Academic All-Conference selection. Gangemi is also a four-year letter winner. She was the 2007-08 TLU Top Female Scholar-Athlete Award winner and was the 2007-08 TLU Female Sportsmanship Award Winner. Gangemi’s service clubs and fraternity memberships include: Psi Chi, Psychology Club, Alpha Mu Gamma, TLU Peer Mentors, Alpha Chi and Delta Epsilon Iota.

Cowan (Whitehouse, Texas), a junior health and kinesiology major with a 3.79 GPA, was a 2008 Academic All-Conference and All-Conference selection. He finished second in 5K and 10K at ASC Championships. Cowan was the 2008 UT Tyler Scholar-Athlete and Male Athlete of the Year. He was a member of the 2007 USTFCCCA DIII All-Academic Team and the 2007 USTFCCCA S/SE Male Athlete of the Year.

Hardin (Germantown, Tenn.), a senior elementary education major with a 3.97 GPA, finished her illustrious four-year career at Mississippi College with decorations in cross country and track. This season alone, Hardin finished the year with the top time in the 3000m (11:30.70) and the 5000m (20:14.80). Hardin also finished her collegiate career with a 3.97 GPA in four years at MC.

All honorees were named to the Spring 2008 ASC Academic All-Conference Team.

ASC SPRING 2008 DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR-ATHLETE TEAM
(+Sport’s Distinguished Scholar-Athlete)

BASEBALL

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Brent Voorhees	McMurry	Sr.	Mathematics	Abilene, Texas
Nick Cmerek	Concordia Texas	Jr.	Business Administration	Austin, Texas
Mark Cox	Texas-Dallas	Gr.	MBA	Coldspring, Texas
Robby Finnell	Ozarks	Sr.	Political Science	Tulsa, Okla.
Adam Froeschl	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Political Science	Buda, Texas
Bryan George	Louisiana College	Sr.	Biology	Bossier City, La.
Brett Holland	Texas-Tyler	Jr.	Health & Kinesiology	Lindale, Texas
Ray Martinez	Schreiner	Jr.	Biochemistry	Boerne, Texas
Ryan Nokelby	Texas Lutheran	So.	Pre-Engineering	Santa Fe, Texas
Monte Piper	Sul Ross State	So.	History	Houston, Texas
Kyle Pope	East Texas Baptist	So.	Accounting	Longview, Texas
Blake Shaffer	Howard Payne	Jr.	Exercise & Sport Science	Brownwood, Texas
Eric Wait	LeTourneau	So.	Biology	White Oak, Texas
R.C. Waters	Hardin-Simmons	Sr.	Art	Mesquite, Texas
Tyler Williams	Mississippi College	Sr.	Marketing	Ridgeland, Miss.

MEN’S GOLF

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Ryan Eastman	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Christian Ministry	San Angelo, Texas
Brandon Ellis	Texas-Tyler	So.	Applied Arts & Sciences	Village Mills, Texas
Garret Greene	Louisiana College	Jr.	Management / Marketing	Dry Creek, La.
Ben Luckert	LeTourneau	Jr.	Accounting	Chandler, Texas
Brent Stanford	Schreiner	So.	Accounting / Info. Systems	Whitewright, Texas
Brian Vaughn	Texas-Dallas	So.	Finance / Bus. Admin.	Plano, Texas
Michael Weehunt	Hardin-Simmons	Sr.	Business	Brownwood, Texas

WOMEN’S GOLF

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Carly Hansen	Texas Lutheran	So.	Physics	Colerain, Minn.
Amber Grounds	Texas-Tyler	So.	Psychology	Whitesboro, Texas
Abigail Hews	LeTourneau	Jr.	Elementary Education	Clive, Iowa
Christi Williams	Mary Hardin-Baylor	So.	Sport Management	Snyder, Texas
Alicia Yoder	Texas-Dallas	Jr.	Psychology	Longview, Texas

SOFTBALL

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Amber Griffin	Texas-Dallas	Sr.	Business Administration	Richmond, Texas
Kristen Akin-Henton	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Studio Art	Longview, Texas
Michelle Cochran	Mississippi College	Sr.	Math Education	Chatawa, Miss.
Cricket Criner	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Nursing	Midland, Texas
Brandi Harris	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Nursing	Van, Texas
Erica Harwell	Louisiana College	Sr.	Health & Physical Education	Houma, La.
Christina Jacobsen	Texas Lutheran	Sr.	Computer Science / Physics	Marion, Texas
Chelsea Joslin	Ozarks	Sr.	Physical Education	Claremore, Okla.
Daphne Kahlig	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Mathematics	Lott, Texas
Jacque Middlebrooks	LeTourneau	So.	History / Secondary Ed.	Alvin, Texas
Jenna Middleton	Howard Payne	Jr.	Political Science	Katy, Texas
Patsy Toman	Schreiner	Jr.	Exercise Science	Hockley, Texas

MEN’S TENNIS

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Chas Dunn	Mississippi College	Jr.	Business Administration	Brandon, Miss.
Nate Alger	Howard Payne	Jr.	Finance	West Bridgewater, Mass.
Keith Edwards	Ozarks	Jr.	Accounting	Grapevine, Texas
Paul Haney	LeTourneau	Jr.	Sports Management	Corpus Christi, Texas
Donald Kasitinon	Texas-Dallas	Jr.	Electrical Engineering	Lewisville, Texas
Nick Kreines	Texas-Tyler	So.	Business	Houston, Texas
Chad Mann	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Exercise & Sport Science	Roswell, N.M.
Daniel Moore	Hardin-Simmons	So.	Undeclared	Magnolia, Texas

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Alanna Gangemi	Texas Lutheran	Sr.	Psychology	San Antonio, Texas
Kristen Bray	McMurry	Jr.	Marketing	Lubbock, Texas
Sylvia Brownfield	Texas-Dallas	Sr.	Business Administration	Tomball, Texas
Bria Camarillo	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Spanish	Abilene, Texas
Kelly Denton	Louisiana College	Sr.	Marketing / Management	Baton Rouge, La.
Christy Gallardo	Sul Ross State	So.	Kinesiology	El Paso, Texas
Brittany Hein	Ozarks	Jr.	Political Science	Grand Prairie, Texas
Beth Launius	Texas-Tyler	Jr.	Mechanical Engineering	La Grange, Texas
Susanna Maxvill	Howard Payne	Sr.	Psychology	Richardson, Texas
Tina Philippi	Schreiner	Sr.	Exercise Science	Pearland, Texas
Sarah Spraberry	Mississippi College	Sr.	Biology	Southaven, Miss.
Jessica Tindall	LeTourneau	Jr.	Sport & Rec. Management	Van, Texas

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ R.J. Cowan	Texas-Tyler	Jr.	Health & Kinesiology	Whitehouse, Texas
Bert Green	McMurry	Sr.	Philosophy	Mansfield, Texas
Cruz Tovar	Sul Ross State	Jr.	Psychology	Canutillo, Texas
Lane Wakefield	Howard Payne	So.	Business	Waco, Texas

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Name	School	Cl.	Major	Hometown
+ Rachel Hardin	Mississippi College	Sr.	Elementary Education	Germantown, Tenn.
Molly Fuston	McMurry	So.	Biology	Childress, Texas
Christy Gallardo	Sul Ross State	So.	Kinesiology	El Paso, Texas
Susanna Maxvill	Howard Payne	Sr.	Psychology	Richardson, Texas
Jessica Raglon	Texas Lutheran	Sr.	Pre-Medicine	Humble, Texas
Ashton Wells	Texas-Tyler	So.	Biology & Anthropology	Quitman, Texas

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