#B1GCats Earn 46 Winter Academic All-Big Ten Honors

3/21/2018 3:00:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Men's Swimming and Diving, Academic Services & Student Development

EVANSTON, Ill. — Forty-six Wildcats student-athletes across five winter sports received Academic All-Big Ten honors, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

Men's basketball's six honorees paced all of its Big Ten counterparts, wrestling set a team record with its 14 accolades, and women's swimming and diving posted double-digit winners for the 10th-straight year — every year since the award's inception.

"In competition, in the community and especially in the classroom, our student-athletes continue to embrace the challenge," said Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips. "Their relentless pursuit of academic success is remarkable and an enormous source of pride for the entire Northwestern University family."

Combined with 97 fall honorees, Northwestern has accumulated 143 All-Big Ten academic awards during the 2017-18 academic year. Northwestern student-athletes took home a record 245 Academic All-Big Ten awards last year, the fourth straight in which the group broke its own record. The 2016-17 academic year also marked the seventh-straight in which the 'Cats have topped 200 total honors.

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

The Office of Academic Services & Student Development is a vital force in supporting the athletic department's mission of providing a world-class academic experience for student-athletes, providing a comprehensive array of programs and services.

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.

Men's Basketball (6)
Barret Benson • So. • Radio/TV/Film
Aaron Falzon • Jr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Charlie Hall • Jr. • Radio/TV/Film
Vic Law • Sr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Tino Malnati • So. • Undeclared
Gavin Skelly • Sr. • Communication Studies

Men's Swimming & Diving (9)
Jonathan Blansfield • Sr. • Communication Studies
Justin Hanson • Jr. • Biological Sciences
Will Hofstadter • Jr. • Biological Sciences
Thanas Kountroubis • Jr. • Economics
Tyler Lis • Jr. • Undeclared
Ben Magliato • Jr. • Spanish
Almog Olshtein • Sr. • International Studies
Arjun Sharma • Jr. • Biological Sciences
Alex Snarski • Sr. • Mechanical Engineering

Women's Basketball (6)
Byrdy Galernik • So. • Undeclared
Oceana Hamilton • Sr. • Communication Studies
Bryana Hopkins • So. • Undeclared
Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah • Jr. • Communication Studies
Lydia Rohde • Sr. • English
Abbie Wolf • So. • Undeclared

Women's Swimming & Diving (11)
Nicole Aarts • So. • Undeclared
Lindsay Adamski • Jr. • Human Development & Psychological Services
Irune Andres • So. Economics
Sandra Freeman • So. • Undeclared
Peyton Greenberg • Jr. Communication Studies/International Studies (double major)
Alex Grimes • Jr. • Computer Science
Malorie Han • So. Communication Studies
Emma Hruby • So. Journalism
Aja Malone • So. Anthropology/International Studies
Olivia Rosendahl • Jr. • International Studies/Political Science (double major)
Eryn Scannell • Jr. • Journalism/Psychology (double major)

Wrestling (14)
Zack Chakonis • Jr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Braxton Cody • Jr. Mechanical Engineering
Ryan Deakin • So. • Undeclared
Regis Durbin • Sr. • Economics
Jason Ipsarides • Jr. • Sociology
Conan Jennings • Sr. • Computer Science
Alec McKenna • Jr. • Economics
Luke Norland • Jr. • Economics
Shayne Oster • So. • Materials Science & Engineering
Anthony Petrone • Jr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Anthony Rubinetti • Jr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Johnny Sebastian • Sr. • Learning & Organizational Change
Mitch Sliga • Gr. • Post Baccalaureate**
Eric Yang • So. • Undeclared

**indicates 4.0 GPA