Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Shatters School Mark for Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
7/6/2016 3:00:00 PM | General, Academic Services & Student Development
EVANSTON, Ill. – A school-record 82 Northwestern student-athletes from 14 different varsity programs have earned prestigious Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition, the conference announced Wednesday.
The award, in its eighth 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, this 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. In 2015-16, Northwestern earned a school-record 232 total Academic All-Big Ten honors to put it over the 200 mark for the sixth consecutive year.
This year's total of 82 Distinguished Scholar recipients easily establishes a new Northwestern high, topping the previous school best of 57 honorees during the 2013-14 academic year.
"Our student-athletes have had an exemplary year in the classroom, capped by these school-record 80 individuals earning Big Ten Distinguished Scholar distinction," Northwestern vice president for athletics and recreation Jim Phillips said. "All told, a school-record 232 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, an overall GPA of 3.32, 12 NCAA Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition awards and a Big Ten-leading 97 percent Graduation Success Rate combined to make 2015-16 a tremendous year and shows the commitment of our student-athletes, coaches and staff to the complete collegiate experience.
"The entire Northwestern community is extremely proud of all their accomplishments and efforts."
Six Wildcats -- fencing's Julia Abelsky, Mikela Goldstein, Lucia Procopio and Jen Yamin, women's soccer's Nandi Mehta, and volleyball's Kayla Morin -- received special recognition for earning perfect 4.0 GPAs over the past year.
Following are Northwestern's 2015-16 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipients:
Baseball (3)
Reed Mason, Sr. • Industrial Engineering
Jake Schieber, Sr. • Communication Studies
Cooper Wetherbee, Jr. • Economics and Environmental Sciences (double major)
Women's Basketball (1)
Maggie Lyon, Sr. • Communication Studies
Cross Country (6)
Elena Barham, Sr. • Political Science and Philosophy (double major)
Erica Grubbs, Sr. • History and International Studies (double major)
Allison Jacobsen, Sr. • Economics
Ellen Schmitz, Jr. • Journalism
Rachel Weathered, Sr. • Biomedical Engineering
Renee Wellman, Sr. • Social Policy
Fencing (10)
Julia Abelsky, Jr. • Statistics
Juliana Barrett, Sr. • Political Science
Mandeep Bhinder, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Courtney Dumas, Sr. • History
Mikela Goldstein, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Cindy Oh, Jr. • Political Science
Stella Pointeau, Jr. • Statistics and Political Science (double major)
Lucia Procopio, So. • Anthropology
Katie Van Riper, So. • History
Jen Yamin, Sr. • Communication Studies
Field Hockey (9)
Juliet Beatty, Jr. • Communication Studies
Lauren Bernardi, Sr. • Psychology
Isabel Flens, Jr. • Communication Studies
Kelsey Gradwohl, Sr. • Psychology
Charlotte Martin, Sr. • Psychology
Pascale Massey, So. • Communication Studies
Lena Phillips, Sr. • Communication Studies
Kelley Stump, Sr. • Journalism
Lindsay von der Luft, Jr. • Communication Studies
Football (8)
Terrance Brown, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change and Sociology (double major)
Max Chapman, Gr. • Sports Administration
Tommy Doles, So. • Political Science
Matt Frazier, Gr. • Sports Administration
Traveon Henry, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Shane Mertz, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Geoff Mogus, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Heath Reineke, So. • Computer Science
Women's Golf (2)
Kacie Komoto, Jr. • Communications Studies
Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, Sr. • Economics
Lacrosse (11)
Lydia Cassada, Jr. • Communication Studies
Kaleigh Craig, Sr. • Communication Studies
Jasmine Docal, Jr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Nancy Dunbar, Sr. • Psychology
Emily Eichner, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Lyndsey Lafitte, So. • Neuroscience
Ally Mueller, So. • Political Science
Lauren Murray, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Shannon Nesselbush, So. • Industrial Engineering
Sheila Nesselbush, Jr. • Industrial Engineering
Corinne Wessels, So. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Men's Soccer (3)
Nathan Dearth, Jr. • Communication Studies
Sam Forsgren, So. • Legal Studies
Mick Maley, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Women's Soccer (9)
Rachel Bergman, Sr. • Anthropology
Natalie Cikos, Sr. • Economics
Maria Grygleski, Jr. • Communication Studies
Jennifer Korn, Sr. • Mechanical Engineering
Suzanne Malherbe, Sr. • Psychology
Nandi Mehta, Sr. • Economics and International Business (double major)
Kaitlin Moore, Jr. • Economics
Niki Sebo, Gr. • Speech Language and Learning
Rachel Zampa, Jr. • Communication Studies
Softball (6)
Andrea Filler, Gr. • Sports Administration
Brianna LeBeau, Sr. • Communication Studies
Amy Letourneau, Gr. • Finance
Anna Petersen, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering
Fran Strub, Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Krista Williams, Jr. • Economics
Men's Swimming & Diving (1)
Stephen Shull, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering
Women's Swimming & Diving (7)
Lauren Abruzzo, Jr. • Philosophy
Ellen Anderson, Sr. • Economics and Statistics (double major)
Lacey Locke, Jr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Megan Purdy, So. • Biological Sciences
Katherine Senseman, So. • Statistics
Ellen Stello, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Annika Winsnes, Jr. • Biological Sciences
Volleyball (6)
Katie Kniep, So. • Communication Studies
Kayla Morin, Jr. • Economics and Political Science (double major)
Caroline Niedospial, Gr. • Sports Administration
Caleigh Ryan, Jr. • Journalism
Maddie Slater, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Taylor Tashima, So. • Economics
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2015-16 academic year.
The award, in its eighth 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, this 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. In 2015-16, Northwestern earned a school-record 232 total Academic All-Big Ten honors to put it over the 200 mark for the sixth consecutive year.
This year's total of 82 Distinguished Scholar recipients easily establishes a new Northwestern high, topping the previous school best of 57 honorees during the 2013-14 academic year.
"Our student-athletes have had an exemplary year in the classroom, capped by these school-record 80 individuals earning Big Ten Distinguished Scholar distinction," Northwestern vice president for athletics and recreation Jim Phillips said. "All told, a school-record 232 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, an overall GPA of 3.32, 12 NCAA Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition awards and a Big Ten-leading 97 percent Graduation Success Rate combined to make 2015-16 a tremendous year and shows the commitment of our student-athletes, coaches and staff to the complete collegiate experience.
"The entire Northwestern community is extremely proud of all their accomplishments and efforts."
Six Wildcats -- fencing's Julia Abelsky, Mikela Goldstein, Lucia Procopio and Jen Yamin, women's soccer's Nandi Mehta, and volleyball's Kayla Morin -- received special recognition for earning perfect 4.0 GPAs over the past year.
Following are Northwestern's 2015-16 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipients:
Baseball (3)
Reed Mason, Sr. • Industrial Engineering
Jake Schieber, Sr. • Communication Studies
Cooper Wetherbee, Jr. • Economics and Environmental Sciences (double major)
Women's Basketball (1)
Maggie Lyon, Sr. • Communication Studies
Cross Country (6)
Elena Barham, Sr. • Political Science and Philosophy (double major)
Erica Grubbs, Sr. • History and International Studies (double major)
Allison Jacobsen, Sr. • Economics
Ellen Schmitz, Jr. • Journalism
Rachel Weathered, Sr. • Biomedical Engineering
Renee Wellman, Sr. • Social Policy
Fencing (10)
Julia Abelsky, Jr. • Statistics
Juliana Barrett, Sr. • Political Science
Mandeep Bhinder, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Courtney Dumas, Sr. • History
Mikela Goldstein, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Cindy Oh, Jr. • Political Science
Stella Pointeau, Jr. • Statistics and Political Science (double major)
Lucia Procopio, So. • Anthropology
Katie Van Riper, So. • History
Jen Yamin, Sr. • Communication Studies
Field Hockey (9)
Juliet Beatty, Jr. • Communication Studies
Lauren Bernardi, Sr. • Psychology
Isabel Flens, Jr. • Communication Studies
Kelsey Gradwohl, Sr. • Psychology
Charlotte Martin, Sr. • Psychology
Pascale Massey, So. • Communication Studies
Lena Phillips, Sr. • Communication Studies
Kelley Stump, Sr. • Journalism
Lindsay von der Luft, Jr. • Communication Studies
Football (8)
Terrance Brown, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change and Sociology (double major)
Max Chapman, Gr. • Sports Administration
Tommy Doles, So. • Political Science
Matt Frazier, Gr. • Sports Administration
Traveon Henry, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Shane Mertz, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Geoff Mogus, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Heath Reineke, So. • Computer Science
Women's Golf (2)
Kacie Komoto, Jr. • Communications Studies
Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, Sr. • Economics
Lacrosse (11)
Lydia Cassada, Jr. • Communication Studies
Kaleigh Craig, Sr. • Communication Studies
Jasmine Docal, Jr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Nancy Dunbar, Sr. • Psychology
Emily Eichner, Sr. • Post Baccalaureate
Lyndsey Lafitte, So. • Neuroscience
Ally Mueller, So. • Political Science
Lauren Murray, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Shannon Nesselbush, So. • Industrial Engineering
Sheila Nesselbush, Jr. • Industrial Engineering
Corinne Wessels, So. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Men's Soccer (3)
Nathan Dearth, Jr. • Communication Studies
Sam Forsgren, So. • Legal Studies
Mick Maley, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Women's Soccer (9)
Rachel Bergman, Sr. • Anthropology
Natalie Cikos, Sr. • Economics
Maria Grygleski, Jr. • Communication Studies
Jennifer Korn, Sr. • Mechanical Engineering
Suzanne Malherbe, Sr. • Psychology
Nandi Mehta, Sr. • Economics and International Business (double major)
Kaitlin Moore, Jr. • Economics
Niki Sebo, Gr. • Speech Language and Learning
Rachel Zampa, Jr. • Communication Studies
Softball (6)
Andrea Filler, Gr. • Sports Administration
Brianna LeBeau, Sr. • Communication Studies
Amy Letourneau, Gr. • Finance
Anna Petersen, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering
Fran Strub, Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Krista Williams, Jr. • Economics
Men's Swimming & Diving (1)
Stephen Shull, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering
Women's Swimming & Diving (7)
Lauren Abruzzo, Jr. • Philosophy
Ellen Anderson, Sr. • Economics and Statistics (double major)
Lacey Locke, Jr. • Human Development and Psychological Services
Megan Purdy, So. • Biological Sciences
Katherine Senseman, So. • Statistics
Ellen Stello, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Annika Winsnes, Jr. • Biological Sciences
Volleyball (6)
Katie Kniep, So. • Communication Studies
Kayla Morin, Jr. • Economics and Political Science (double major)
Caroline Niedospial, Gr. • Sports Administration
Caleigh Ryan, Jr. • Journalism
Maddie Slater, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change
Taylor Tashima, So. • Economics
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2015-16 academic year.
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