FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 10th Annual Hillmyer-Tremont Foundation Academic Honors Luncheon was held Feb. 5 in the Cohen Center Ballroom on the campus of FGCU.
The event – under the umbrella of the FGCU Athletics Student Development program – honored student-athletes who achieved a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher and have attended FGCU for a minimum of two semesters. Among 66 honorees at this year's event, 18 earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall 2018 semester.
"This continues to remain a highlight of the year, as we recognize the cream of our crop. Young men and women who have proven themselves with superior accomplishments in the classroom, while balancing such with pursuing the same in their chosen sport, and while giving back to greater Southwest Florida as community servants", stated Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh.
Highlighting the program – which was emceed by Bill Banfield – were remarks by University President Dr. Michael Martin, student-athlete representative Julia Ascua of women's tennis and Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Tom Roberts. Kohl Gilmore of baseball provided the invocation.
Associate AD for Academic Affairs Kelly Jean Brock presented the team awards recognizing those who continue to reach new levels of excellence, not only on an individual basis, but collectively as a group.
With a 3.53 fall GPA, the highest team GPA was awarded to women's soccer. Six members of the team earned a perfect 4.0.
Women's tennis again won highest term GPA for an individual sport with a 3.67, continuing its stalwart success in the classroom as it posted a record 3.83 GPA last spring, and as a group it holds an astounding 3.79 team GPA, just trailing its record 3.87.
The second award was for most improved team GPA, which went to men's basketball. The team went from a 2.88 in the spring to a program-best 3.18 in the fall.
The final award was presented to men's tennis for the individual sport which made the greatest GPA improvement from spring to fall going from 3.04 to 3.39.
FGCU Director of Admissions Marc Laviolette was bestowed the Special Recognition Award, presented annually to someone who has distinguished himself or herself by providing a superior level of service and support to student-athletes at FGCU in their pursuit of academic and athletic success.
"Marc is certainly one of FGCU's unsung heroes who has been a great teammate over the years in our coaches' pursuits of finding quality student-athletes to come to The Nest," Kavanagh said in presenting the award. "In turn, he is a veteran who has comprehended the overall valued-added of intercollegiate athletics."
The Hillmyer-Tremont Foundation recognizes student-athletes primarily from Lee, Collier or Charlotte counties attending FGCU. It is named after Monk Hillmyer, founder of U.S. Homes in Southwest Florida and Elmer Tremont, Hall of Fame basketball and football coach in Lee County. It was FGCU Athletics' first-ever scholarship endowment and was established in 2001.
The FGCU Department of Athletics Student-Athlete Development Program was developed to provide a comprehensive program designed to reach each student-athlete based on his or her own individual needs. The focus of the program is holistic in nature – addressing the needs of the whole person athletically, academically, personally and emotionally.
Coordinated by Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Affairs/Senior Woman Administrator
Kathy Peterson, the Student-Athlete Development Program is based on the premise that the same qualities and skills necessary for an athlete to attain a level of competitiveness in athletics can be applied to real world situations after college. The program's goals focus on supporting efforts of every student-athlete toward intellectual development and graduation, using athletics as preparation for success in life, meeting the changing needs of student-athletes, assisting student-athletes in building positive self-esteem and promoting ownership by the student-athletes of their academic, athletic, personal and social responsibilities. Additionally, the program seeks to encourage the development of leadership skills, enable student-athletes to make meaningful contributions to their communities and promote respect among student-athletes.
In addition to the individual successes which were recognized at the luncheon, as a whole, the student-athlete body earned a collective GPA of 3.32 for the fall semester, which surpassed that of the overall undergraduate student body (3.03 GPA) for the 19th consecutive semester. FGCU student-athletes currently possess a 3.33 cumulative GPA (compared to 3.07 for the undergraduate student body).
Below are some academic highlights from the fall 2018 term:
Men's Basketball – Earned the highest cumulative and term GPA in program history.
Men's Golf – Earned the highest cumulative GPA and the highest term GPA in program history.
Women's Volleyball – Tied the highest cumulative GPA in program history.
Beach Volleyball – Earned the highest cumulative GPA in program history.
HONOREES:
Baseball (4)
Marc Coffers (Junior / Interdisciplinary Entrepreneur Studies / Naples, Fla.)
Kenneth Gilmore (Senior / Communication / Fort Pierce, Fla.)
Brian Ellis (Sophomore / Exercise Science / Oviedo, Fla.)
Keith Stevens (Senior / Economics /Miami, Fla.)
Men's Golf (1)
Mark Iwinski (Sophomore / Finance / Fort Myers, Fla.)
Men's Soccer (7)
Jahan Rajaee (Junior / Environmental Engineering / Gainesville, Fla.)
Thomas Anderson (Junior / Finance / Gainesville, Fla.)
Kareem Riley (Sophomore / Legal Studies & Criminal Justice / Couva, Trinidad & Tobago)
Parker Holland (Sophomore / Health Science / Winter Garden, Fla.)
Connor Gavigan (Junior / Psychology / Aurora, Colo.)
Joshua Morgan (Sophomore / Finance / Atherton, Calif.)
Raheem Somersall (Senior / Integrated Studies / Basseterre, St. Kitts)
Women's Basketball (5)
Chandler Ryan (Junior / Criminal Justice / Groveland, Ill.)
*Alyssa Blair (Sophomore / Accounting / Sun Prairie, Wisc.)
Kerstie Phills (Junior / Health Science / Charlotte, N.C.)
Tyra Cox (Sophomore / Marketing / Orlando, Fla.)
Lisa Zderadicka (Graduate / Educational Leadership / Vienna, Austria)
Beach Volleyball (1)
Kayla Whetstone (Sophomore / Economics / Arlington, Texas)
Women's Cross Country (2)
Bridget Schoffman (Senior / Finance / Eagan, Minn.)
Madeline Wyers (Sophomore / Interdisciplinary Entrepreneur Studies / Wakeman, Ohio)
Women's Golf (4)
Madeline Marck-Sherk (Senior / Exercise Science / Ridgeway, Ontario)
Jean Tyrrell (Graduate / Marketing / Leawood, Kan.)
Katherine Williamson (Junior / Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Ailsa Clark (Junior / Exercise Science / Navarre, Fla.)
Women's Soccer (11)
Camille Knudstrup (Senior / Psychology / Lakeland, Fla.)
Silvana Gordon (Junior / Health Science / Medford, N.J.)
Emilie Olsen (Junior / Frekhaug, Norway)
Lindsey Patton (Junior / Exercise Science / Jacksonville, Fla.)
Megan Young (Junior / Bioengineering / White Lake, Mich.)
Hope Van Wagner (Sophomore / Special Education / Avon, Ind.)
Petra Smetkova (Junior / Psychology / Korycany, Czech Republic)
Holly Fritz (Graduate / Biology / Cape Coral, Fla.)
Emily Ganeshan (Sophomore / Biology / Pickering, Ontario)
Zoey Reed-Spitzer (Sophomore / Economics / Naples, Fla.)
Kara Kyramarios (Freshman / Nursing / Titusville, Fla.)
Softball (4)
Racquel Fournet (Senior / Biology / Windermere, Fla.)
Katelyn Kelly (Senior / Child and Youth Studies / Cape Coral, Fla.)
Elizabeth Callaghan (Sophomore / Elementary Education / Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
Taylor Bauman (Sophomore / Exercise Science / Jacksonville, Fla.)
Swimming & Diving (9)
Christina Elmgreen (Senior / Finance / Charlottenlund, Denmark)
Linda Shaw (Senior / Marketing / Leeds, United Kingdom)
Hannah Burdge (Senior / English / Stuart, Fla.)
Lindsay Manganiello (Senior / Communication / Miami, Fla.)
Cassidy Fry (Junior / Marketing / Oakwood, Ohio)
Karin Schienvar (Junior / Communication / Holmdel, N.J.)
Doris Eichhorn (Senior / Management / Berlin, Germany)
Antonia Baerens (Senior / Psychology / Ottobrunn, Germany)
Rebecca Moynihan (Sophomore / Biology / Palmerston North, New Zealand)
Women's Tennis (8)
Julia Ascua (Senior / Accounting / Santa Fe, Argentina)
Laura Falceto-Font (Senior / Biotechnology / Zaragoza, Spain)
Bridget Forster (Junior / Exercise Science / Boca Raton, Fla.)
Sara Kelly (Sophomore / English / Naples, Fla.)
Maja Ornberg (Junior / Communication / Kil, Sweden)
Sofia Perez (Junior / Management / Alajuela, Costa Rica)
Patricia Villar (Senior / Psychology / Logrono, Spain)
Madison Gallegos (Sophomore / Biology / Denver, Colo.)
Volleyball (5)
Amanda Carroll (Senior / Communication / Albuquerque, N.M.)
Margaret Rick (Senior / Economics / Alpharetta, Ga.)
Kaitlan Krivdo (Senior / Resort & Hospitality Management / Hope Mills, N.C.)
Alayna Ryan (Sophomore / Biochemistry / Fort Myers, Fla.)
Cortney VanLiew (Sophomore / Accounting / Seymour, Ind.)
Cheerleading (5)
Caragan Philips (Senior / Public Relations / Springfield, Ill.)
Lindsey Kenney (Junior / Elementary Education / Muskego, Wisc.)
Melissa Mazurkiewicz (Health Science)
Jamie Cohen (Senior / Communication / Winter Garden, Fla.)
Theresa Tedesco (Sophomore / Nursing / Rutland, Vt.)
Bold indicates 4.0 Fall 2014 GPA *Denotes 4.0 cumulative GPA
Former Special Recognition Award Winners:
2010 – Bernie & Elaine Lester (Benefactors)
2011 – Hillmyer-Tremont (Foundation Board)
2012 – Dr. Cecil Carter (Retired Faculty Athletics Representative)
2013 – Dr. Jim Wohlpart (Director of Undergraduate Studies)
2014 – Sam & Carol Crimaldi (Benefactors)
2015 – Jorge Lopez (Director of Financial Services)
2016 – Allison Bacigalupi (Director of Academic Advising)
2017 – Dr. Ludmilla Wells (Retired Faculty Athletics Representative)
2018 – Mike & Karen Hartley (Benefactors)
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 73 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 34 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runner-ups for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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