Kayla Morin is one of two Northwestern volleyball student-athletes to post a 4.0 GPA.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the second-straight year and the second time in school history, Northwestern's fall student-athletes cracked the 100-award mark by earning a conference-best 103 Academic All-Big Ten honors across six sports, the B1G office announced today (Dec. 10).
Northwestern is the lone Big Ten school to earn over 100 Academic All-Big Ten awards for the second-straight year, topping Michigan State's 95 and Indiana's 86. Both MSU and IU sponsor seven fall sports while NU fields six varsity squads, three of which led their conference brethren in Academic All-Big Ten Awards this year.
NU football topped its own program record with 38 total honorees, besting its previous high of 36 earned in 2013. This season is the Wildcats' fifth-straight with more than 30 Academic All-Big Ten award winners. Northwestern again led the entire Big Ten Conference in football awards, besting Minnesota's second-place total of 29 awards.
Northwestern field hockey also had the most Academic All-Big Ten honors in its sport, earning 15 to best the second-place total of 12 achieved by Indiana and Penn State. The Wildcats found success on the field as well this season, winning the Big Ten Tournament for the first time ever and qualifying for their first NCAA Tournament field in 20 years.
NU volleyball set a program record of its own by garnering 11 Academic All-Big Ten awards in the fall of 2014. The Wildcats tied with Illinois for the most accolades in the sport this season.
In total, the Big Ten honored 978 fall student-athletes with Academic All-Big Ten awards. Northwestern earned 10.5 percent of those in a 14-team league.
To earn Academic All-Big Ten recognition, an athlete must be in at least his/her second year at the institution, letter in his/her sport and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.
Instituted beginning in 2008-09, the conference office also will hand out the 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. This year's recipients will be honored prior to the fall of 2015 based on their GPAs from the 2013-14 academic year.
Following are Northwestern's 2014 fall season Academic All-Big Ten award winners:
Field Hockey (15)
Juliet Beatty, So. Undeclared Dublin, Ireland
Ashley Bernardi, Jr. Anthropology Pittston, Pa.
Lauren Bernardi, Jr. Cognitive Science Pittston, Pa.
Maddy Carpenter, Sr. Anthropology Wilbraham, Mass.
Isabel Flens, So. Undeclared Hattem, Netherlands
Tara Gordon, Jr. Human Development and Psychological Services Fort Worth, Texas
Kelsey Gradwohl, Jr. Psychology Ann Arbor, Mich.
Charlotte Martin, Jr. Psychology St. Louis, Mo.
Lisa McCarthy, Jr. Psychology Dublin, Ireland
Lena Phillips, Jr. Communication Studies Allentown, Pa.
Kelley Stump, Jr. Journalism Allentown, Pa.
Kelsey Thompson, Sr. Psychology Ann Arbor, Mich.
Lindsay von der Luft, So. Undeclared Wilmington, Del.
Kirsten Ward, Jr. Journalism Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Kristin Wirtz, Sr. Secondary Teaching Oak Park, Ill.
Football (38)
Corey Acker, So. Undeclared Ballston Lake, N.Y.
Matt Alviti, So. Communication Studies Park Ridge, Ill.
Chi Chi Ariguzo, Gr. Sports Administration Gahanna, Ohio
Hayden Baker, Sr. Anthropology Trout Valley, Ill.
Ibraheim Campbell, Sr. Economics Philadelphia, Pa.
Joe Cannon, Sr. Communication Studies and Economics (double major) Oconomowoc, Wis.
Austin Carr, Jr. Philosophy Benicia, Calif.
Max Chapman, Sr. Communication Studies Ponte Vedra, Fla.
Adam DePietro, Jr. Learning and Organizational Change Lancaster, Pa.
Doug Diedrick, Sr. Economics Woodridge, Ill.
Collin Ellis, Sr. Learning and Organizational Change St. Gabriel, La.
Matt Frazier, Sr. Communication Studies Bourbonnais, Ill.
Deonte Gibson, Sr. Communication Studies Lakewood, Ohio
Chris Gradone, Sr. Industrial Engineering Cincinnati, Ohio
Jimmy Hall, Sr. Learning and Organizational Change Toledo, Ohio
Tim Hanrahan, Sr. Chemical Engineering Frankfort, Ill.
Matthew Harris, So. Learning and Organizational Change La Grange Highlands, Ill.
Tom Hruby, So. Learning and Organizational Change Crown Point, Ind.
Tony Jones, Sr. Learning and Organizational Change Flint, Mich.
Paul Jorgensen, Gr. Economics DeWitt, Mich.
Dean Lowry, Jr. Economics Rockford, Ill.
Connor Mahoney, Jr. Learning and Organizational Change Malvern, Pa.
Shane Mertz, Sr. Economics Hazlet, N.J.
Tommy Odell, So. Mechanical Engineering River Forest, Ill.
Zack Oliver, Sr. Communication Studies Baton Rouge, La.
Eric Olson, Jr. Learning and Organizational Change Sudbury, Mass.
Arthur Omilian, Sr. Industrial Engineering Atlanta, Ga.
Kyle Queiro, So. Learning and Organizational Change Verona, N.J.
Josh Roberts, So. Industrial Engineering Wamego, Kan.
Christian Salem, Jr. Economics Santa Monica, Calif.
Trevor Siemian, Sr. Communication Studies Windermere, Fla.
Mark Szott, Sr. Communication Studies Naperville, Ill.
Jayme Taylor, So. Undeclared The Woodlands, Texas
Nick VanHoose, Sr. Communication Studies Urbana, Ohio
Brandon Vitabile, Sr. Economics Edison, N.J.
Dan Vitale, Jr. Economics Wheaton, Ill.
Brett Walsh, So. Undeclared Monrovia, Calif.
Jarrell Williams, Sr. Human Development and Psychological Services Robbins, Ill.
Women's Cross Country (12)
Elena Barham, Jr. Political Science Madison, Wis.
Camille Blackman, Jr. Anthropology Longmeadow, Mass.
Elizabeth Fierro, Sr. Biological Sciences Northport, N.Y.
Erica Grubbs, Jr. History Davenport, Iowa
Allison Jacobsen, Jr. Economics Carmel, Ind.
Megan O'Brien, Jr. Journalism Homer Glen, Ill.
Andrea Ostenso, So. Environmental Sciences Ladysmith, Wis.
Jena Pianin, So. History Pleasanton, Calif.
Hannah Rose, So. Communication Studies Staunton, Va.
Ellen Schmitz, So. Journalism Carmel, Ind.
Rachel Weathered, Jr. Biomedical Engineering Naperville, Ill.
Renee Wellman, Jr. Social Policy Carmel, Ind.
Men's Soccer (13)
Peter Beasley, Sr. Economics Naperville, Ill.
Nikko Boxall, Sr. Economics Auckland, New Zealand
Joey Calistri, Jr. Communication Studies Deerfield, Ill.
Brendan Gruenwald-Schmitz, Sr. Mechanical Engineering Burlington, Wis.
Henry Herrill, Jr. Economics Altadena, Calif.
Connor Holloway, Gr. History Deerfield, Ill.
Peter Horner, Sr. Economics Brookfield, Wis.
Mick Maley, Jr. Learning and Organizational Change South Elgin, Ill.
Brandon Medina, So. Undeclared Chicago, Ill.
Tyler Miller, Sr. Communication Studies Woodbury, N.J.
Mike Roberge, So. Undeclared Murrysville, Pa.
Eric Weberman, Sr. Political Science Farmington Hills, Mich.
Grant Wilson, Sr. Economics Kansas City, Mo.
Women's Soccer (14)
Jackie Alyinovich, Sr. Journalism Burr Ridge, Ill.
KK Barr, Sr. Anthropology St. Charles, Ill.
Briana Borsellino, Sr. Communication Studies Oak Brook, Ill.
Natalie Cikos, Jr. Economics Massapequa Park, N.Y.
Mary Erikson, So. Undeclared Beloit, Wis.
Ali Herman, Sr. Journalism and International Studies (double major) Villanova, Pa.
Jennifer Korn, Jr. Industrial Engineering Naperville, Ill.
Katie Landgrebe, Sr. Journalism Madeira, Ohio
Suzanne Malherbe, Jr. Psychology Temecula, Calif.
Nandi Mehta, Jr. Economics and International Studies (double major) Lexington, Mass.
Kaitlin Moore, So. Economics Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Sami Schrakamp, Sr. Communication Studies Danville, Calif.
Kourtney Scott, So. Learning and Organizational Change Okemos, Mich.
Niki Sebo, Sr. Human Communication Sciences Downers Grove, Ill.
Volleyball (11)
Kelly Boutelle, So. Journalism Del Mar, Calif.
Maggie Burnham, Sr. Human Development and Psychological Services Toledo, Ohio
Katie Dutchman, Gr. School of Professional Studies Del Mar, Calif.
Abbie Kraus, Jr. Journalism Birmingham, Ala.
Monica McGreal, Sr. Industrial Engineering Louisville, Ky.
Kayla Morin, So. Undeclared Portage, Mich.
Caroline Niedospial, Sr. Journalism Evergreen Park, Ill.
Savannah Paffen, Sr. Biological Sciences Mountain View, Calif.
Caleigh Ryan, So. Journalism Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Maddie Slater, So. Undeclared The Woodlands, Texas
Rafae Strobos, So. Undeclared New Braunfels, Texas
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