Northwestern University Athletics
Abelsky, Mehta Honored with Arthur Ashe Scholar Award
3/11/2016 10:17:00 AM | Women's Soccer, Women's Fencing
EVANSTON, Ill. – Two Northwestern student-athletes – Nandi Mehta and Julia Abelsky – have been awarded the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar award for their respective sports.
This year's winners represent 36 sports and were chosen from more than 1,000 outstanding minority candidates nominated by their respective institutions. Northwestern was the only school to have two winners.
The award was established in 1992 by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education to "honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr." The winners will be profiled in the magazine's April 21 edition.
To be nominated, students must play an intercollegiate sport, have a cumulative GPA above 3.2 and be active on their campuses and in their communities.
Past recipients of the award include: Baylor University's (2011) Robert Griffin III, Heisman Trophy winner and Washington Redskins quarterback; the University of Tennessee's (2003) Kara Lawson, ESPN analyst who played for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs; San Diego State University's (1993) Marshall Faulk, NFL Hall of Famer; and the University of Kansas' (1996) Jacque Vaughn, former head coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic.
Mehta, an economics and international studies double major, boasts a 3.98 grade point average and tallied two game-winning goals last season for the Wildcats. Her most notable performance of 2015 came in September when the senior shocked a fierce opponent in then-No. 11 Rutgers with a 93rd-minute golden goal. One of two co-captains, Mehta appeared in over 60 games for the Purple and White, and registered nine points (3g, 3a) during her tenure in Evanston.
Last year, Mehta was chosen as one of five junior Northwestern student-athlete winners of the NU For Life Irving Kabiller Memorial Award for Excellence in Character, Commitment, and Community. As a winner, she received a $5,000 grant for her own professional development and she used it to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in February and, over the summer, to work with a faculty member at the University of Geneva in Switzerland on reforming medical policy.
Abelsky, a statistics major, helped lead a successful saber weapon group for the Wildcats' fencing team that won the Midwest Fencing Conference championship. She currently has a 45-18 record and she finished ninth this year individually at the MFC Championship. Her career accomplishments include a 173-84 record, a top-five and a top-10 finish at the NCAA Midwest Regionals and a top-25 finish at the NCAA Championships. Abelsky has been profiled for her work on invisibility.
This year's winners represent 36 sports and were chosen from more than 1,000 outstanding minority candidates nominated by their respective institutions. Northwestern was the only school to have two winners.
The award was established in 1992 by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education to "honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr." The winners will be profiled in the magazine's April 21 edition.
To be nominated, students must play an intercollegiate sport, have a cumulative GPA above 3.2 and be active on their campuses and in their communities.
Past recipients of the award include: Baylor University's (2011) Robert Griffin III, Heisman Trophy winner and Washington Redskins quarterback; the University of Tennessee's (2003) Kara Lawson, ESPN analyst who played for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs; San Diego State University's (1993) Marshall Faulk, NFL Hall of Famer; and the University of Kansas' (1996) Jacque Vaughn, former head coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic.
Mehta, an economics and international studies double major, boasts a 3.98 grade point average and tallied two game-winning goals last season for the Wildcats. Her most notable performance of 2015 came in September when the senior shocked a fierce opponent in then-No. 11 Rutgers with a 93rd-minute golden goal. One of two co-captains, Mehta appeared in over 60 games for the Purple and White, and registered nine points (3g, 3a) during her tenure in Evanston.
Last year, Mehta was chosen as one of five junior Northwestern student-athlete winners of the NU For Life Irving Kabiller Memorial Award for Excellence in Character, Commitment, and Community. As a winner, she received a $5,000 grant for her own professional development and she used it to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in February and, over the summer, to work with a faculty member at the University of Geneva in Switzerland on reforming medical policy.
Abelsky, a statistics major, helped lead a successful saber weapon group for the Wildcats' fencing team that won the Midwest Fencing Conference championship. She currently has a 45-18 record and she finished ninth this year individually at the MFC Championship. Her career accomplishments include a 173-84 record, a top-five and a top-10 finish at the NCAA Midwest Regionals and a top-25 finish at the NCAA Championships. Abelsky has been profiled for her work on invisibility.
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