June 23, 2009

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - With the conclusion of the 2008-09 academic year, the West Coast Conference proudly announced the eighth annual Commissioner's Honor Roll, which recognizes those student-athletes that possess at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Eight hundred and fifty four student-athletes, who participated in one of the WCC's 13 sponsored sports, were honored from the league's eight member institutions. Of that group, LMU garnered 109 student-athletes on the list. This year's number marks a record for the conference, as the previous best total was 849 in 2006-07. It also beats out last year's total with over 100 more student-athletes recognized.

"I would like to congratulate all of our student-athletes who made this year's WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll," said West Coast Conference Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich. "This season, we saw a dramatic improvement in the number of honorees to this list which speaks to our member institution's continued dedication to promoting well-rounded student-athletes."

LMU saw 13 of its student-athletes earn Gold Honors, given to those athletes with a GPA between 3.75 and 4.00, led by Stefanie Baduria (women's soccer) and Jessica Vargas (women's basketball) who each managed a perfect 4.00. Baduria, Lacey Bartels and Kim Feeney made the list from women's soccer, while Abby Fall and Stefanie Felix represented women's cross country. A trio of women's basketball players made the cut, represented by Vargas, Lisa Helmers and Lauren Wilkins. Andrew Morris was the lone men's soccer player on the Gold Honor list, while Greg Moss (men's golf), Kat Regan (women's rowing), Becky Stehling (women's volleyball) and Nick Von Der Ahe (men's tennis) paced the way for their respective teams.

Only grades earned at WCC institutions were used in calculating the grade point average for these awards. To be considered for the honor, student-athletes must have met the following requirements:
1) Individuals must have earned a varsity letter in a sport which the conference determined a champion in the recently completed academic year.
2) The cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 must be based on a 4.0 scale.
3) The individuals must have successfully completed an average of at least 12 graded credit hours (non pass-fail hours) per term.

The Conference recognized the student-athletes in three separate designations:
1) 4.00-3.75 - Gold Honors
2) 3.74-3.50 - Silver Honors
3) 3.49-3.00 - Bronze Honors