June 28, 2005

Vermont Student-Athletes Post Another Successful Semester in the Classroom

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Student-athletes at the University of Vermont enjoyed another
strong semester in the classroom.  The athletic department as a whole posted a
spring semester GPA of 3.09 which was higher than the overall student body mark
of 3.04.  It is the fifth straight semester Vermont student-athletes have
posted a GPA of 3.0 or better.

Vermont had 14 of its 20 teams (70%) earn a 3.0 or better during the spring
semester and one team missed the 3.0 mark by a one-thousands of a point.  For
the second straight semester, nearly two-thirds of UVM student-athletes earned
over a 3.0, while 40 earned a 3.8 GPA or better, including 14 student-athletes
who recorded a perfect 4.0.

The women’s skiing squad led the way with a team GPA of 3.54, while the top team
on the men’s side was men’s soccer (3.31).  Through the fall semester, 84
student-athletes were named to the America East and ECACHL Academic Honor
Rolls.  The winter/spring academic honor roll for the America East will be
announced later this summer.  Four teams, women’s swimming and diving, men’s
and women’s cross country and women’s soccer, earned recognition for their
academic achievements from respective coaching associations during the year.

Among the senior class that graduated, five student-athletes earned cum laude
honors and two more graduated summa cum laude.  Swimmer Neily Jennings
(Windsor, Conn.) earned Phi Beta Kappa honors.   Teammates Allison Buza
(Huntington, Pa.) and Carlee Moldenhauer (Cheshire, Conn.) and men’s basketball
player David Hehn (Sarnia, Ontario) were inducted into the Golden Key
International Honour Society, which recognizes the top 15 percent of junior and
senior students in each college or school.  Buza also earned membership into
the Mortar Board society and joined senior skier Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid,
N.Y.) as the recipients of the Wasson Athletic Prize given out by the UVM
Athletic Department as the top senior student-athletes.

Vermont student-athletes have recorded a GPA of 3.00 or higher for four straight
years: 3.09 in 2004-05; 3.10 in 2003-04; 3.05 in 2002-03 and 3.04 in 2001-02.
Over the past five years the Catamounts have had the top GPA among the
conference schools, recording a 3.015 since 1999-2000.

In 2004-05, Vermont boasts five student-athletes who have earned a spot on six
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I Teams and a pair, Bailey and Amy
Cochran (Keene, N.H.), have combined to earn three ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-America citations.  Bailey was named to the national Academic All-America
Men’s At-Large Team as a member of the UVM Nordic ski team. Cochran, a
two-sport athlete as a member of the women’s soccer and women’s alpine teams,
was named to the national Academic All-America Women’s Soccer and Women’s
At-Large Team (skiing).

Over the past five years, Vermont has produced 20 student-athletes that have
earned a spot on the academic all-district teams and six have gone on to earn
national Academic All-America honors.

A number of Vermont student-athletes were honored with awards, honors degrees
and citations of excellence from their respective colleges and departments:

Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.) – Nordic Skiing – Was inducted into the Pi
Sigma Alpha (Chie Nu Chapter) National Political Science Honor Society; Earned
a faculty award from the environmental studies program for his senior thesis
research.

Kami Cote (Copperton, Utah) – Women’s Hockey – Named the Outstanding Senior in
Physical Education – Teacher Licensure from the College of Education and Social
Services; Cote was also inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor
Society in education.

Kate Crawford (Hawley, Mass.) – Nordic Skiing – Earned the Award for Academic
Achievement in Environmental Sciences from the Rubenstein School of Environment
and Natural Resources.

Alaina Dickason (Starksboro, Vt.) – Swimming and Diving – Received the Reginald
Milbank (Sophomore) Award from the Department of
Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering from the College of Engineering
and Mathematics.  The award is given annually to the outstanding sophomore
enrolled in civil engineering and environmental engineering at the University
of Vermont; Dickason was also inducted into the Sigma Xi Honor Society.

Christen Faltermeier (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) – Women’s Lacrosse – Was awarded
a prestigious URECA grant from the John Dewey Honors College as a secondary
education major.

David Hehn (Sarnia, Ontario) – Men’s Basketball – Was inducted into the Beta
Gamma Sigma National Honor Society for Business Management; Also inducted into
the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Nikkie Hessney (Victor, N.Y.) – Women’s Soccer – Received departmental honors
from the English Department.

Kate Hudspeth (Burlington, Vt.) – Women’s Hockey – Was inducted into the Alpha
Kappa Delta National Honor Society for sociology.

Myles Jewell (Sudbury, Mass.) – Men’s Lacrosse – Received the W.A. Haviland
Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Anthropology from the College of Arts and
Sciences; Jewell was also recognized for his project “Visions of Africa: an
Exercise in Visual Literacy” in the John Dewey Honors  Program; Was also
inducted into the Lambda Alpha National Honor Society for anthropology.

Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) – Men’s Basketball – Earned the Ozzie
Nyquist Prize from the School of Business Administration.  The award is given
to the junior demonstrating teamwork and leadership in the field of accounting
or finance; Klimes was also inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor
Society for Business Management.

Whitney Knauer (New Holland, Pa.) – Track and Field – Earned the American
Society of Animal Science Award from the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences.  The award is given annually to sophomores, juniors and seniors who
academic record, scholastic efforts and character warrant recognition as the
future leaders in the field of animal science; Knauer was also inducted into
the Alpha Zeta Green Mountain Chapter Honor Society.

Christie Layden (Rutland, Vt.) – Field Hockey - Was inducted into the Alpha
Kappa Delta National Honor Society for sociology.

Steph Mead (Victor, N.Y.) – Women’s Soccer – Was inducted into the Phi Alpha
Honor Society for social work; Mead was also named the University of Vermont
Women’s Center Female Athlete of the Year.

Jennifer Plourde (Wilbraham, Mass.) – Cross Country/Track and Field – Earned the
Natural Resources Program Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement from the
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources

Stephen Rizner (Middlebury, Vt.) – Cross Country/Track and Field – Was honored
with the Award for Superior Performance in Botany.  The
faculty in botany present this award year to a senior in the department with
superior academic record and investment in the research and teaching activities
of the department.

Amy Rogers (Essex Junction, Vt.) – Track and Field – Was honored with the Warren
R. Steinbring Outstanding Senior in Microbiology Award, which is presented for
academic excellence and professional growth; Rogers was also inducted into the
Alpha Zeta Green Mountain Chapter Honor Society.

Jessica Schwartz (Belfast, Maine) – Swimming – Was honored by the Honors Program
of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for her research in the
microbiology program; Schwartz was also inducted into the Alpha Zeta Green
Mountain Chapter Honor Society.

Chris Smart (Morgantown, W.V.) – Men’s Hockey – Earned the Bickford Keystone
Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  The award recognizes
the promising research collaboration between undergraduate students and faculty
associated with the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences.  The Bickford
Keystone Award sets the standard for keystone awards in other academic
departments and within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Smart also
earned the 2005 Nutrition and Food Sciences Research Award, which is presented
to the graduating senior who has excelled in undergraduate research while
maintaining high academic standards and has demonstrated outstanding potential
for a career in either basic or applied research in nutrition and food science;
Was also awarded a prestigious URECA grant from the John Dewey Honors College.

Lee Stanton (Fair Haven, Vt.) – Cross Country/Track and Field – Was also
inducted into the Alpha Zeta Green Mountain Chapter Honor Society for the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Sarah Toczylowski (Reading, Mass.) – Softball – Was a named a Freeman Nurse
Scholar by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Nicole Underhill (South Burlington, Vt.) – Swimming and Diving – Was a named a
Freeman Nurse Scholar by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Underhill
was also named a Vermont Scholar.

Gabe Worzella (Madison, Conn.) – Women’s Hockey - Earned the American Society of
Animal Science Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  The
award is given annually to sophomores, juniors and seniors who academic record,
scholastic efforts and character warrant recognition as the future leaders in
the field of animal science.

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Vermont Athletic Communications