15 Rockets Named MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes

12/21/2017 3:59:00 PM | Football, Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Athletics

     TOLEDO, Ohio — Fifteen University of Toledo student-athletes were named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes from the fall season today by the Mid-American Conference. The awards were voted on by faculty athletic representatives at MAC institutions representing the 'best of the best' from each sport's Academic All-MAC team.

     The Rocket women's soccer program led the way with a total of six student-athletes recognized, the highest mark in the conference. Football landed four student-athletes on the list, followed by women's cross country with three honorees and women's volleyball with two.

     Four of the 15 Toledo student-athletes honored earned Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors for a third-straight year: Isa Echeverri and Chiara Paradiso of women's soccer; Brad Spelman of football; Stephanie Barlow of women's cross country. There were also three additional student-athletes – Nate Jeppesen and Logan Woodside of football and Lauren Bakaitis of women's volleyball - honored for a second-straight year.

    The Distinguished Scholar Athlete is given to student-athletes who have excelled in athletics and academics. Following each season from the fall sports schedule, any student-athlete with a 3.20 GPA and participation in at least 50 percent of the contests was automatically named to the previously announced academic All-MAC Team from each sport. Also, first-year student and junior college transfers in their first year of residence were not eligible for the award.

     From the Academic All-MAC Teams, the faculty athletic representatives selected the 'best of the best' from the Academic All-MAC Teams to be honored with Distinguished Scholar Athlete Award for the 2016-17 season. The number of Distinguished Scholar Athletes from each sport were equivalent to the number of first-team selections or 33% of the nominees, whichever was greater.

     A complete listing of all 15 Toledo student-athletes to earn the 2017 Fall Distinguished Scholar Athlete award is listed below:

Women's Soccer
Isa Echeverri, Three-time honoree, Senior, 3.555 GPA, Marketing (Medellin, Colombia)
Chiara Paradiso, Three-time honoree, Senior, 3.937 GPA, Communications (Columbus, Ohio)
Sophie Pohl, First-time honoree, Senior, 3. 794 GPA, Criminal Justice (St. Charles, Ill.)
Regan Price, First-time honoree, Junior, 4.00 GPA, Marketing (Bellefontaine, Ohio)
Hannah Scafaria, First-time honoree, Junior, 4.00 GPA, Administration (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Christina Williams, First-time honoree, Senior, 3.979 GPA, Finance (Pickerington, Ohio)

Football
Nate Jeppesen, Two-time honoree, Senior, 3.577 GPA (3.668 Graduate GPA), Interdisciplinary Studies (Graduate-Master of Recreation & Leisure Study (Portage, Mich.)
Brad Spelman, Three-time honoree, Senior, 3.7217 GPA (4.0 Graduate GPA), Accounting (Graduate-Master of Business Administration (Hilliard, Ohio)
Brant Weiss, First-time honoree, Senior, 3.512 GPA (3.67 Graduate GPA), Management (Graduate-Master of Business Administration) (Sunbury, Ohio)
Logan Woodside, Two-time honoree, Senior, 3.42 GPA (3.134 Graduate GPA), Marketing (Graduate-Recreation Management) (Frankfort, Ky.)

Women's Cross Country
Stephanie Barlow, Three-time honoree, Senior, 3.754 GPA, Early Childhood Education (San Antonio, Texas)
Janelle Noe, First-time honoree, Senior, 3.845 GPA, Exercise Science (Sylvania, Ohio)
Athena Welsh, First-time honoree, Sophomore, 3.455 GPA, Pre-Business (Louisville, Ohio)

Women's Volleyball
Lauren Bakaitis, Two-time honoree, Senior, 3.965 GPA, Bioengineering (Avon Lake, Ohio)
Annie Beasley, First-time honoree, Senior, 3.731 GPA, Nursing (Indianapolis, Ind.)