Date: April 24, 2002
Contact: Brian Laubscher (540) 463-8676
Release: Upon Receipt

ONE-HUNDRED FOURTEEN W&L STUDENTS EARN SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS
Twelve Attain a 4.0 or Higher Grade-Point Average for the Winter Semester

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Washington and Lee Director of Athletics Mike Walsh has announced that 114 students earned Scholar-Athlete awards during the recently completed winter term. The students are all members of W&L athletic teams and achieved a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.500.

Additionally, 12 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 senior All-ODAC and All-State football player Jeff Bahl (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day), freshman women's soccer player Patricia Ballantyne (Newnan, Ga./Newnan), freshman All-ODAC track and cross country athlete Wes Bell (Dalton, Ga./McCallie School (Tenn.)), sophomore All-ODAC women's soccer and basketball player Heather Coleman (Blackwood, N.J./Triton Regional), junior rider Avery Gholston (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Seaholm), sophomore All-ODAC men's tennis player Austin Kim (Richmond, Va./Clover Hill), senior women's swimming captain Anne Lachiewicz (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill), senior field hockey player Amie Lucier (Williamsburg, Va./Walsingham Academy), junior football player John Melillo (Forney, Texas/Belle Plaine), senior All-ODAC, All-State and All-America women's basketball player Jessica Mentz (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), junior men's tennis player Chris Sorenson (Glen Cove, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) and senior women's basketball captain Carter Thomas (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster).

Other notable athletes to receive Scholar-Athlete awards included junior All-ODAC women's swimmer Kelli Austin (Niles, Mich./Niles), junior All-ODAC women's soccer player Lindsay Duran (Colleyville, Texas/Fort Worth Country Day), senior All-ODAC volleyball player Leslie Fischbeck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills), junior All-ODAC baseball player Michael Hanson (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy), senior All-ODAC and All-America women's tennis player Melissa Hatley (Columbia, S.C./Heathwood Hall), ODAC volleyball freshman of the year Jennifer Lux (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox), freshman All-ODAC field hockey and women's lacrosse player Kitt Murphy (Richmond, Va./St. Catherines), sophomore All-ODAC men's tennis player Graham Nix (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville), junior All-ODAC and All-America women's tennis player Erika Proko (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day), sophomore All-America swimmer Eric Ritter (Birmingham, Ala./Mountain Brook), senior All-ODAC and All-State volleyball player Lindsay Ruckert (Metairie, La./Sacred Heart), senior All-ODAC track athlete and women's basketball player Sarah Schmidt (Topeka, Kan./Hayden), senior All-ODAC and All-America football player Brad Wiginton (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and freshman All-ODAC women's soccer player Kelley Zagol (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga).

Nineteen of W&L's 23 varsity athletic programs achieved a team GPA of at least 3.000, led by the women's basketball team with a 3.436. The highest men's team GPA was tennis with a 3.342 and no team recorded a GPA lower than 2.767.

The women's teams combined for a 3.211 GPA, while the men's teams combined to post a 3.032 GPA. The overall student-athlete average was 3.032.

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

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