FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Department of Athletics has announced its monthly academic honorees for April. Women's tennis Julia Ascúa and baseball's Keith Stevens were named Scholar-Athletes of the Month.

A female and male Eagle are chosen as the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month throughout the academic year. Factors in the selection for this honor is based on a combination of significant athletic and overall academic success.

Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) capped off her senior season with a 3.88 GPA and graduated with a bachelor's in accounting. She landed on the President's List five times and the Athletics Director's Honor Roll four times. In April, Ascúa was dubbed the ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a finalist for the Eagle Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

On the court this season for the Eagles, the Santa Fe native played primarily out of the No. 3 slot, going 11-8 overall with a 3-2 mark in conference play. She also added nine doubles victories on the premiere court with her teammate Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping).

"Julia is an extremely hard worker and is well-deserving of this honor," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "She has shown that consistently for the four past years giving 100 percent in the classroom."

Stevens (Miami, FL/Miami Killian HS/Hillsborough CC) owns a 3.68 GPA while majoring in accounting. He is a three-time Dean's List recipient and a four-time Athletics Director's Honor Roll member.

Overall, Stevens holds a team-best .337 batting average while connecting at a .400-clip in conference play, which leads the ASUN. Earlier in the week, he was tabbed the ASUN Player of the Week as he hit .500 over the three-game road span against NJIT, accounting for eight of FGCU's 18 total runs. The Miami native has made 45 starts this season, driving in 28 runners with 11 doubles and three home runs. Thursday night against Liberty, Stevens launched a two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh to put the Eagles on top 6-4 en route to the 7-4 win.

"We all know how hard Keith has been working on the field and in the classroom and we're very proud of him," said head coach Dave Tollett. "His preparation leading up to each series has been very key and it's paying off for him."

2018-19 Scholar-Athletes of the Month
August – Holly Fritz (Soccer) Kareem Riley (Soccer)
September – Carley Lutzow (Cross Country) Felipe Escobar (Tennis)
October – Maggie Rick (Volleyball) Kohl Gilmore (Baseball)
November – Cortney VanLiew (Volleyball) and Marc Coffers (Baseball)
December – Chandler Ryan (Women's Basketball) and Caleb Catto (Men's Basketball)
January – Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Swimming & Diving) and O'Vonte Mullings (Men's Soccer)
February – Riley Randolph (Softball) and Mateo Ruiz (Men's Tennis)
March – Ailsa Clark (Women's Golf) and Tate Heintzelman (Men's Golf)
April – Julia Ascúa (Women's Tennis) and Keith Stevens (Baseball)

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 77 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 36 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 soccer, women's soccer, and women's basketball again in 2018-19. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in spring 2018 and have outpaced their institution's undergraduate student body GPA each of the past twenty semesters. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl in 2017.

FOLLOW ALONG
Ticket information for upcoming events is available by logging on to FGCUTickets.com or by calling 239-590-7145. Additional news and schedule information is available at FGCUAthletics.com. Follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Facebook (/FGCUAthletics), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and YouTube (/FGCUAthletics).

SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
-- FGCUATHLETICS.COM --