Dec. 3, 2008

Big Ten Office Fall 2008 Academic All-Big Ten Release (PDF Format)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern led the Big Ten and broke its own school record by earning 75 Academic All-Big Ten honors in six fall sports in 2008, announced today (Dec. 3) by the conference office. The Wildcats led the league in honors per sport and notched the third-most overall accolades behind both Ohio State (80) and Indiana (77), schools which sponsor seven sports during the fall season.

The Wildcats' 75 total honors in one sport season breaks their previous school mark of 68 set in the fall of 2007. Northwestern's football program bested its previous high of 18 awards in 2007 with a whopping 26 Academic All-Big Ten honorees in 2008. NU matched Minnesota and Ohio State for the most Academic All-Big Ten award winners (26) in the conference this season.

Included among the Wildcats' Academic All-Big Ten award winners are three ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. Phil Brunner (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) of football was a first-team selection, while Carl Pett (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) and Drew Ratner (Dallas, Texas/Episcopal) of men's soccer earned second-team nods. In addition, Laura Janowitsch (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) of women's soccer was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V second-team honoree.

To earn Academic All-Big Ten recognition, an athlete must be in his/her second year at the institution, letter in his/her sport and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

This year, the conference office also will award the newly created Distinguished Scholar Award at the end of the academic year. Student-athletes eligible for the Distinguished Scholar Award must be letter winners in at least their second year in residence at their institution. Qualifying student-athletes must have earned a GPA of 3.7 or higher for the current academic year, excluding summer school. The 3.7 GPA benchmark was designed to include the top 10 percent of all eligible student-athletes. The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award was established by conference Faculty Representatives as an addition to the conference's Academic All-Big Ten program. The first recipients will be honored prior to the fall of 2009, based on their GPAs from the 2008-09 academic year.

Following are Northwestern's 2008 fall season Academic All-Big Ten award winners:

Women's Cross Country
Carly Brown, Sr. • Communication Studies • Kalispell, Mont.
Kate Cline, Sr. • Journalism • Brecksville, Ohio
Marcellee Fullwood, Sr. • International Studies • Houston, Texas
Britta Helwig, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Chicago, Ill.
Allison King, Sr. • Communication Studies • Potomac, Md.
Madeline Rozwat, So. • Undeclared • Hillsborough, Calif.
Rachael Suffrin, Jr. • Psychology and Human Development and Psychological Services (double major) • Deerfield, Ill.
Megan Young, Sr. • Industrial Engineering and Economics (double major) • Rochester Hills, Mich.

Field Hockey
Zoe Almquist, So. • Undeclared • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Alison Bullock, Sr. • Communication Studies • Chevy Chase, Md.
Courtney Coburn, Jr. • Psychology • Upper Arlington, Ohio
Alyssa Elmy, Jr. • Environmental Sciences • Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Megan Jamieson, So. • Undeclared • Toledo, Ohio
Emily Kyle, Sr. • Communication Studies • San Francisco, Calif.
Katie Lynch, So. • Human Communication Sciences • Briarcliff, N.Y.
Sarah Marcincin, So. • Undeclared • Bethlehem, Pa.
Courtney Plaster-Strange, Jr. • Economics • Louisville, Ky.
Marnie Robbins, So. • Communication Studies • Milwaukee, Wis.
Kendra Sirak, So. • Undeclared • Dallas, Pa.
Olivia Standa, So. • Human Communication Sciences • Lake Bluff, Ill.
Stacy Uchida, Jr. • Environmental Sciences • Southbury, Conn.

Football
Colin Armstrong, So. • Undeclared • Wheaton, Ill.
C.J. Bachér, Gr. • Communication Studies • Sacramento, Calif.
Doug Bartels, So. • Undeclared • Caledonia, Calif.
Andrew Brewer, Sr. • Communication Studies and Religion (double major) • Tulsa, Okla.
Phil Brunner, Gr. • Chemical Engineering • South Milwaukee, Wis.
Corbin Bryant, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Chicago, Ill.
Scott Concannon, So. • Communication Studies • Columbia, Mo.
Kyle Daley, Sr. • Economics and Mathematics (double major) • Arlington, Texas
Stefan Demos, Jr. • Communication Studies • Scottsdale, Ariz.
Mike Dinard, Sr. • Psychology and Philosophy (double major) • Parma, Ohio
Adam Hahn, Sr. • Economics • Hartford, Wis.
Keegan Kennedy, Sr. • Communication Studies • Jupiter, Fla.
Zeke Markshausen, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering • Capron, Ill.
Kurt Mattes, Sr. • Political Science • Larksville, Pa.
Bryce McNaul, So. • Undeclared • Eden Prairie, Minn.
James Nussbaum, Jr. • Economics • Greenwood, Ind.
David Oredugba, Gr. • Communication Studies • Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Dan Persa, So. • Communication Studies • Bethlehem, Pa.
Eric Peterman, Sr. • Industrial Engineering • Sherman, Ill.
Brian Peters, So. • Undeclared • Pickerington, Ohio
Kyle Petty, So. • Learning and Organizational Change • Northbrook, Ill.
Brad Phillips, Jr. • Psychology • Export, Pa.
Josh Rooks, So. • Undeclared • Zeeland, Mich.
Desmond Taylor, Sr. • Communication Studies • Los Angeles, Calif.
Kevin Watt, So. • Undeclared • Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Mark Woodsum, Sr. • Environmental Sciences • Arlington Heights, Ill.

Men's Soccer
Pat Coleman, Jr. • Political Science • Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Matt Eliason, So. • Undeclared • Lombard, Ill.
Geoff Fallon, Sr. • Civil Engineering • St. Louis, Mo.
Drew Kotler, So. • Undeclared • Wynnewood, Pa.
Eamon O'Neill, Jr. • Communication Studies • Wilmington, Del.
Drew Pavlovich, Jr. • Economics • Leawood, Kan.
Carl Pett, Sr. • English • Northbrook, Ill.
Drew Ratner, Gr. • Psychology • Dallas, Texas
Brian Usinger, Sr. • Economics • Penfield, N.Y.
Tyler Voigt, Sr. • Environmental Sciences • Wheaton, Ill.

Women's Soccer
Colleen Antas, So. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Wheaton, Ill.
Ally Arca, So. • Undeclared • San Leandro, Calif.
Jennifer Baumann, So. • Undeclared • Waukesha, Wis.
Jenny Dunn, Sr. • Communication Studies and Economics (double major) • Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Amanda Hoffman, Sr. • Communication Studies • North Tustin, Calif.
Leigh Jakes, Jr. • Sociology • McDonough, Ga.
Laura Janowitsch, Sr. • Psychology and Political Science (double major) • Grafton, Wis.
Jeanette Lorme, Sr. • Political Science and International Studies (double major) • Santa Clarita, Calif.
Jessica Palo, Jr. • Art Theory and Practice • Ames, Iowa
Ali Rubnitz, Jr. • Communication Studies and Psychology (double major) • Los Gatos, Calif.
Kay Sampson, Jr. • Environmental Sciences • San Francisco, Calif.
Grace Weitz, So. • Journalism • Golden Valley, Calif.

Volleyball
Ariel Baxterbeck, Jr. • Environmental Sciences • Menlo Park, Calif.
Elyse Glab, So. • Undeclared • Chicago, Ill.
Chelsy Hyser, Sr. • Sociology • Belvidere, Ill.
Naomi Johnson, So. • Mathematics • Bloomington, Minn.
Kelly Keporos, Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Downers Grove, Ill.
Sabel Moffett, Jr. • Undeclared • Temecula, Calif.