Tide Student-Athletes Honored at Annual Scholarship Banquet
4/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
TUSCALOOSA - Crimson Tide student-athletes were recognized for their accomplishments off the field of play at the annual Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Awards Banquet on Monday night.
The yearly event hosted by the Center of Athletic Student Services (CASS) and the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), was held in the Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center on campus.
During the academic year 127 University of Alabama student-athletes from 15 different sports earned Academic All-SEC honors. A group of 29 true freshmen at UA were also selected to the SEC Freshmen Academic Honor Roll. The women's tennis team (3.42 GPA) and men's swimming & diving team (2.90 GPA) were recognized for maintaining the highest team grade point averages over the past year.
Football standout DeMeco Ryans (3.46 GPA, business management) and women's track and field competitor Beth Mallory (3.79 GPA, physical education) were named the overall male and female winners of the annual Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award. Other Bryant Award nominees and individual sports winners included Eric Molnar (men's tennis), Gabe Scott (baseball), Ashley Bentley (women's tennis), Katie French (soccer), Stewart Smith (men's swimming), Arlene Semeco (women's swimming), Darby Sligh (women's golf), Clint Provost (men's golf), Shannon Hrozek (gymnastics), Chuck Davis (men's basketball), Katie Sipe (women's basketball), Kory Tull (volleyball), Jeff Fedler (men's track & field) and Jennifer Wright (softball).
This year each team selected a Most Valuable Player and those honorees were also recognized during the reception. The list of 2004-05 Crimson Tide MVPs included Joseph Jung (men's tennis), Bentley (women's tennis), Laura Lowman (soccer), Vlad Polyakov (men's swimming), Anne Poleska (women's swimming), Ryans (football), Megan George (women's golf), Provost (men's golf), Ashley Miles (gymnastics), Earnest Shelton (men's basketball), Monique Bivins (women's basketball), Erin Heffner (volleyball), Mallory (women's track & field), Peter Etoot (men's track & field) and Ashley Courtney (softball).
In addition to academic awards, student-athletes were honored for their community service work. As a group, Crimson Tide players logged over 1,000 hours of community service this season.
The Tide women's basketball team (300 hours) recorded the most community service hours among the women's programs, while the Bama baseball team (50 hours) tallied the highest amount of community service hours for the men's squads.
A group of senior athletes were also named the Top Six Community Servants. The list included Allen Rice (baseball), Sipe (women's basketball), Wesley Britt (football), Tull (volleyball), Virnetta Greene (women's track & field) and French (soccer).
