Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern Boasts 81 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
7/10/2018 2:30:00 PM | Baseball, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country & Track, Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Wrestling, Field Hockey, Academic Services & Student Development, Women's Fencing
EVANSTON, Ill. — Eighty-one Northwestern student-athletes from 17 different programs have earned prestigious Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten Recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.
"The entire Northwestern community is extremely proud of how our student-athletes represent the University academically, socially and athletically," said Combe Family Vice President for Athletic & Recreation Jim Phillips. "To have 81 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars is a testament to the commitment of excellence demonstrated by our student-athletes, their coaches and our academic support staff."
Of the 17 Northwestern programs that boasted representatives, five Wildcat teams posted sport-bests to lead their Big Ten peers including football (13), women's lacrosse (13), fencing (7), women's basketball (3) and men's basketball (2). Football and women's lacrosse's 13 honorees are the most for a Northwestern program since women's swimming and diving had 14 student-athletes earn the distinction in 2011.
This year's total of 81 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars ranks second all-time in school history, trailing only the school record of 82 which was set in the 2015-16 academic year.
Six Wildcats – fencing's Ella Lombard and Lucia Procopio, lacrosse's Sheila Nesselbush and Sara Szynal, softball's Brooke Marquez and wrestling's Mitch Sliga – earned special recognition for earning perfect 4.0 GPAs over the past year.
In addition to the distinguished scholar recognitions, Northwestern accumulated 200-plus Academic All-Big Ten awards for the eighth straight year. The Wildcats finished the 2017-18 year with a total of 227 student-athletes receiving the recognition for earning a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Following are Northwestern's 2017-18 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipients:
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2015-16 academic year.
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten Recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.
"The entire Northwestern community is extremely proud of how our student-athletes represent the University academically, socially and athletically," said Combe Family Vice President for Athletic & Recreation Jim Phillips. "To have 81 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars is a testament to the commitment of excellence demonstrated by our student-athletes, their coaches and our academic support staff."
Of the 17 Northwestern programs that boasted representatives, five Wildcat teams posted sport-bests to lead their Big Ten peers including football (13), women's lacrosse (13), fencing (7), women's basketball (3) and men's basketball (2). Football and women's lacrosse's 13 honorees are the most for a Northwestern program since women's swimming and diving had 14 student-athletes earn the distinction in 2011.
This year's total of 81 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars ranks second all-time in school history, trailing only the school record of 82 which was set in the 2015-16 academic year.
Six Wildcats – fencing's Ella Lombard and Lucia Procopio, lacrosse's Sheila Nesselbush and Sara Szynal, softball's Brooke Marquez and wrestling's Mitch Sliga – earned special recognition for earning perfect 4.0 GPAs over the past year.
In addition to the distinguished scholar recognitions, Northwestern accumulated 200-plus Academic All-Big Ten awards for the eighth straight year. The Wildcats finished the 2017-18 year with a total of 227 student-athletes receiving the recognition for earning a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Following are Northwestern's 2017-18 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipients:
| Baseball (3) | ||
| Danny Katz | Jr. | Economics |
| Charlie Maxwell | So. | Undeclared |
| JR Reimer | Sr. | Learning And Organizational Change |
| Men's Basketball (2) | ||
| Barret Benson | So. | Radio/TV/Film |
| Gavin Skelly | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Women's Basketball (3) | ||
| Byrdy Galernik | So. | Undeclared |
| Bryana Hopkins | So. | Undeclared |
| Abbie Wolf | So. | Secondary Teaching |
| Women's Cross Country (5) | ||
| Andrea Ostenso | Sr. | Civil & Environmental Engineering |
| Ashley Ko | Jr. | Human Development & Psychological Services |
| Aubrey Roberts | So. | Undeclared |
| Brooke Pigneri | Sr. | Neuroscience |
| Isabel Seidel | Sr. | Journalism |
| Women's Fencing (7) | ||
| Sacha Bazzal | Sr. | Learning & Organizational Change |
| Yvonne Chart | Jr. | Materials Science And Engineering |
| Sharon Chen | Jr. | Radio/Television/Film |
| Ella Lombard | Jr. | Psychology / English |
| Lucia Procopio | Sr. | Anthropology / History |
| Anna Tolley | Sr. | Anthropology |
| Katie Van Riper | Sr. | History / Psychology |
| Field Hockey (7) | ||
| Elena Curley | Sr. | Psychology |
| Erica Hootstein | So. | Undeclared |
| Annie Kalfas | Jr. | Communication Studies |
| Kirsten Mansfield | Jr. | Psychology |
| Pascale Massey | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Eva van Agt | Jr. | Mathmatics/Economics |
| Charlotte Vaziri | Sr. | History |
| Football (13) | ||
| Corey Acker | Gr. | Sport Administration |
| Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman | So. | Learning And Organizational Change |
| Garrett Dickerson | Gr. | Communication Studies |
| Tommy Doles | Sr. | Political Science |
| Tyler Gillikin | So. | Undeclared |
| T.J. Green | Jr. | Economics |
| Chad Hanaoka | Sr. | Biological Sciences |
| Montre Hartage | Jr. | Learning And Organizational Change |
| James Prather | Sr. | Comparative Literary Studies |
| Heath Reineke | Sr. | Computer Science/Economics |
| Jelani Roberts | Jr. | Mechanical Engineering |
| Clayton Thorson | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Brett Walsh | Gr. | Post Baccalaureate |
| Men's Golf (1) | ||
| Dylan Wu | Sr. | Economics |
| Women's Golf (3) | ||
| Sarah Cho | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| MacKenzie Hawkes | So. | Learning and Organizational Change |
| Janet Mao | Jr. | Neuroscience |
| Women's Lacrosse (13) | ||
| Ivy Arlia | So. | Learning And Organizational Change |
| Nicole Beardsley | Sr. | Human Development & Psychological Services |
| Nell Copeland | Jr. | Sociology And History |
| Lindsay Darrell | Sr. | Human Communication Sciences |
| Carli Harpel | So. | English |
| Holly Korn | Jr. | HIstory |
| Julie Krupnick | So. | Social Policy |
| Lyndsey Lafitte | Sr. | Neuroscience |
| Ally Mueller | Sr. | Political Science And Legal Studies |
| Shannon Nesselbush | Sr. | Industrial Engineering |
| Sheila Nesselbush | Gr. | Predictive Analytics |
| Danita Stroup | Sr. | Human Communication Sciences |
| Sara Szynal | So. | Social Policy |
| Men's Soccer (1) | ||
| Jake Roberge | Jr. | Economics |
| Women's Soccer (5) | ||
| Olivia Korhonen | Jr. | Journalism |
| Aspyn Repp | Jr. | Economics |
| Kayla Sharples | Jr. | Communication Studies |
| Nikia Smith | Sr. | Learning & Organizational Change |
| Marisa Viggiano | Jr. | Communication Studies |
| Softball (5) | ||
| Nicole Bond | Gr. | Integrated Marketing Communications |
| Abbey Boyd | Sr. | Biological Sciences |
| Brooke Marquez | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Sammy Nettling | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Sabrina Rabin | Sr. | Biological Sciences/Psychology (Double Major) |
| Men's Swimming & Diving (3) | ||
| Justin Hanson | Jr. | Biological Studies |
| Will Hofstadter | Jr. | Biological Studies |
| Almog Olshtein | Sr. | Political Science/International Studies |
| Women's Swimming & Diving (6) | ||
| Lindsay Adamski | Jr. | Human Development & Psychological Services |
| Irune Andres | So. | Economics |
| Sandra Freeman | So. | Undeclared |
| Peyton Greenberg | Jr. | Communication Studies/International Studies |
| Alex Grimes | Jr. | Computer Science |
| Olivia Rosendahl | Jr. | Political Science/International Studies |
| Women's Tennis (1) | ||
| Erin Larner | Sr. | Communication Studies |
| Wrestling (2) | ||
| Braxton Cody | Jr. | Mechanical Engineering |
| Mitch Sliga | Gr. | Post-Baccalaureate |
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2015-16 academic year.
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