July 15, 2010

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Thirty-nine Wildcats from 14 of Northwestern's varsity programs have been named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, announced today (July 15) by the conference office.

The award, in its second year of existence, was established by the Big Ten Faculty Representatives to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the new award encompasses only student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for their academic career.

Three Wildcats, junior Colleen Antas of women's soccer, graduate student Adam Hahn of football and junior Annie Reihman of cross country, were specially recognized for carrying 4.0 GPAs over the past year.

The full list of 39 Wildcats -- which is two more than won the award last year -- is as follows:

Colleen Antas, women's soccer • Jr. • Spanish/Human Development and Psychological Services • Wheaton, Ill.
Alexandra Arkin, women's fencing • Jr. • Journalism • Elm Grove, Wis.
Meredith Baskies, women's fencing • Sr. • Communication Studies • Lynnfield, Mass.
Ariel Baxterbeck, volleyball • Sr. • Environmental Studies/Psychology • Menlo Park, Calif.
Kerry Bickford, women's fencing • So. • Undeclared • Basking Ridge, N.J.
Courtney Coburn, field hockey • Sr. • Psychology • Upper Arlington, Ohio
Elizabeth Dobbs, field hockey • Sr. • Communication Studies/Psychology • Wellesley, Mass.
Rachel Edwards, cross country • So. • Engineering • Eden Prairie, Minn.
Matt Eliason, men's soccer • Jr. • Communication Studies • Lombard, Ill.
Liza Engstrom, women's swimming • Jr. • Religion • Reno, Nev.
Christa French, women's fencing • Sr. • Communication Sciences and Disorders • Southlake, Texas
Kayley French, women's fencing • Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Southlake, Texas
Kevin Frymire, football • Gr. • Sports Administration • Burr Ridge, Ill.
Adam Hahn, football • Gr. • Sports Administration • Hartford, Wis.
Sarah Henning, women's fencing • Sr. • History/International Studies • New Berlin, Wis.
Mark Ison, football • Sr. • Computer Science • Powell, Ohio
Shelby Johnson, women's swimming • So. • Undeclared • Wayzata, Minn.
Alexandra Lederhausen, women's golf • So. • Undeclared • Hinsdale, Ill.
Kelsey Lindenschmidt, women's golf • Jr. • Chemical Engineering • West Chester, Ohio
Sarah Marcincin, field hockey • Jr. • Economics • Bethlehem, Pa.
Brooke Matthews, women's lacrosse • Jr. • Communication Studies • Baltimore, Md.
Sherrick McManis, football • Sr. • Communication Studies • Peoria, Ill.
Eric Metzler, wrestling • Gr. • Sports Administration • Luxemburg, Wis.
Samantha Murray, women's tennis • Sr. • Economics • Altrincham, England
Kim Pantages, women's lacrosse • Sr. • Communication Studies • North Caldwell, N.J.
Kyle Petty, football • Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Northbrook, Ill.
Courtney Plaster-Strange, field hockey • Sr. • Economics • Louisville, Ky.
Annie Reihman, cross country • Jr. • Biological Services • Richmond, Ind.
Erin Reilly, women's swimming • Jr. • Human Communication Disorders • Frankfort, Ill.
Tobias Reitz, men's tennis • So. • Undeclared • Reinbeck, Germany
Katherine Sampson, women's soccer • Sr. • Environmental Sciences • San Francisco, Calif.
Danielle Spencer, women's lacrosse • Sr. • Social Policy • Rochester, N.Y.
Kate Stephensen, women's swimming • Jr. • History/Secondary Education • Davis, Calif.
Desmond Taylor, football • Gr. • Communication Studies • Los Angeles, Calif.
Robin Thompson, softball • Jr. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Detroit, Mich.
Nicole Tilley, women's fencing • Jr. • Communication Technology/Spanish • Chandler, Ariz.
Stacy Uchida, field hockey • Sr. • Environmental Studies • Southbury, Conn.
Nate Williams, football • Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mark Woodsum, football • Gr. • Civil and Environmental Engineering • Arlington Heights, Ill.