Date: January 7, 2002
Contact: Brian Laubscher (540) 463-8676
Release: Upon Receipt

ONE-HUNDRED TEN W&L STUDENTS EARN SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS
Nine Attain a 4.0 or Higher Grade-Point Average for the Fall Semester

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Washington and Lee Director of Athletics Mike Walsh has announced that 110 students earned Scholar-Athlete awards during the recently completed fall term. The students are all members of W&L athletic teams and achieved a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.500.

Additionally, nine of the students honored achieved grade point averages of 4.0 or higher (an A+ is worth 4.330 at W&L). Among the students achieving 4.0 or higher GPA's were freshman women's soccer player Patricia Ballantyne (Newnan, Ga./Newnan), sophomore All-ODAC women's soccer and basketball player Heather Coleman (Blackwood, N.J./Triton Regional), senior volleyball player Sara Heusel (Ann Arbor, Mich./Novi), junior football player John Melillo (Forney, Texas/Belle Plaine), senior All-ODAC women's basketball player Jessica Mentz (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), sophomore swimmer Eric Ritter (Birmingham, Ala./Mountain Brook), senior men's lacrosse captain David Skeen (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) and senior rider Tracy Stitt (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson).

Other notable athletes to receive Scholar-Athlete awards included senior All-ODAC and All-State football player Jeff Bahl (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day), junior All-ODAC women's soccer player Lindsey Duran (Colleyville, Texas/Fort Worth Country Day), senior All-ODAC and All-America women's tennis player Melissa Hatley (Columbia, S.C./Heathwood Hall), senior All-ODAC men's tennis player Rhys James (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's), sophomore All-ODAC men's tennis player Austin Kim (Richmond, Va./Clover Hill), freshman All-ODAC volleyball player Jennifer Lux (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox), sophomore All-ODAC men's soccer player Jacob Stoehr (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights), junior All-ODAC and All-America football player Chris Sullivan (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights), junior Academic All-America football player Jay Thomas (Houston, Texas/Kincaid) and junior All-ODAC women's tennis player Brandi Jane Wedgeworth (Hilton Head, S.C./Hilton Head Christian).

Thirteen of W&L's 23 varsity athletic programs achieved a team GPA of at least 3.000, led by the riding team with a 3.360. The highest men's team GPA was the men's tennis team with a 3.314 and no team recorded a GPA lower than 2.817.

W&L had an outstanding fall season on the playing fields as well. W&L's eight fall sports teams combined for a record of 64-28-2 (.691) with volleyball claiming an ODAC Championship.

Below is a list of all of the scholar-athletes for the fall, 2001 term.

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