FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Department of Athletics has announced its ninth pair of 2019-20 monthly academic honorees. Women's tennis senior
Maja Ornberg and men's golf senior
Doug Smith were named Scholar-Athletes of the Month for April.
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 include a combination of significant athletic and overall academic success.
Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) carried a 3.72 GPA this past Spring term while majoring in Communications. She is a seven-time AD Honor Roll member, while also landing a spot on the Dean's list five times.
Since first stepping foot on campus in the Fall of 2016, Ornberg has been the Eagles' no. 1 singles court player as well as handling the top doubles spot. Before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sweden native collected four singles win along with five victories in doubles play. Most recently, she was named an ASUN Spring Winner for Life. The award is given to one honoree from each of the nine ASUN schools and focuses on all-around excellence. Ornberg is expected to return back for her fifth season.
"Maja is an exceptional young woman and a sweet, kind-hearted person off the court," said head coach
Courtney Vernon." "She's worked very hard on her academics and has done a great job at it. In the past four years, she's been at the top of our lineup and gives it her all whether it's in the gym, the classroom or on the court with her teammates."
Smith (Windermere, FL/Olympia HS) majored in Finance, entering the Spring semester with a 3.3 GPA and is a Dean's List honoree. On the course this season for the Eagles, Smith played 18 rounds over six tournaments with an average score of 74.44 – the second-lowest on the team. He also led the squad with 49 birdies as he finished his FGCU career playing 82 rounds in 29 tournaments with a 75.61 scoring average.
"Doug did a great job this past season balancing his athletics and academics," said head coach
Andrew Danna. "He possesses really strong time-management skills which help his success both on the course and in the classroom. I'm very proud of him for what he was able to accomplish not only this season but throughout his career."
2019-20 Scholar-Athletes of the Month
August – Dana Axner (Volleyball) and Jahan Rajaee (Men's Soccer)
September – Evdokia Popadinova (Women's Soccer) and
Marcelo Tebet (Men's Tennis)
October – Lindsey Patton (Women's Soccer) and Kareem Riley (Men's Soccer)
November – Cortney VanLiew (Volleyball) and TC Anderson (Men's Soccer)
December – Keri Jewett-Giles (Women's Basketball) and Caleb Catto (Men's Basketball)
January – Ailsa Clark (Women's Golf) and Hunter McGarry (Baseball)
February – Wiktoria Czarnecka (Swimming & Diving) and Brian Ellis (Baseball)
March – McKenna Batterton (Softball) and Sam Gagliardi (Men's Basketball)
April –
Maja Ornberg (Women's Tennis) and
Doug Smith (Men's Golf)
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#FEEDFGCU
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 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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
