University of Minnesota Athletics
Four Gophers Honored by Big Ten
7/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - Four Gopher women's hockey players are among the seventy-two University of Minnesota student-athletes who have earned 2014-15 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards, conference officials announced on Wednesday. Twenty of Minnesota's teams are represented on the list.
Kelsey Cline, Rachel Ramsey, Kate Schipper and Lee Stecklein were among those Minnesota student-athletes honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients for recording a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year. These four Gophers were also recognized as Academic All-Big Ten honorees this season.
The 72 Gopher honorees this year are the second most ever by the Maroon & Gold (86 in 2011-12) while this year's total also stands as second most in the Big Ten Conference behind only Michigan State (78).
Among Minnesota's honorees are nine student-athletes who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic year - Becca Dyson (women's cross country), Marnie Kinnaird (women's cross country/track & field), Jack Metcalf (men's gymnastics), Lisa Weeks (rowing), Kiera Janzen (women's swimming & diving), Jessica Plant (women's swimming & diving), Tori Simenec (women's swimming & diving), Katie Murgic (women's track & field), and Michael Kroells (wrestling).
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letter winners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.
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