Ball State Places 17 on MAC’s Distinguished Scholar Athlete List

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Ball State Places 17 on MAC’s Distinguished Scholar Athlete List

December 19, 2016 | General

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today the Distinguished Scholar Athletes from the seven fall sports during this 2016-17 academic season. Faculty athletic representatives at MAC institutions selected more than 230 students from each sport's Academic All-MAC teams as the 'best of the best.' Ball State placed 17 worthy student-athletes on the list.

The Distinguished Scholar Athlete is a third-year award given to students who have excelled in athletics and academics. Following each season from the fall sports schedule, any student with a 3.20 GPA and participation in at least 50 percent of the contests was automatically named to the previously announced Academic All-MAC Team from each sport. Also, first-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence were not eligible for the award.

From the Academic All-MAC Teams, the faculty athletic representatives selected the 'best of the best' of the Academic All-MAC Teams to be honored with Distinguished Scholar Athlete Award for the 2016-17 season. The number of Distinguished Scholar Athletes from each sport were equivalent to the number of first-team selections or 33% of nominees, whichever was greater.

Below are the Ball State fall sports award winners.

2016 MAC Field Hockey Distinguished Scholar Athletes:
^*Bryce Barnes, Ball State, Senior, 3.962, Elementary Education (Fredericksburg, Va.)
Anya Eicher, Ball State, Sophomore, 3.866, Business Administration (Boort, Victoria, Australia)
Abbey Main, Ball State, Junior, 3.822, Pre-Physician Assistant (West Chester, Ohio)
^*Merinda Morley, Ball State, R-Junior, 3.785, Pre-Physical Therapy (University City, Mo.)
Michelle Shampton, Ball State, R-Freshman, 3.744, Business Administration (Dayton, Ohio)
^Carley Shannon, Ball State, Junior, 3.985, Exercise Science (Williamsburg, Va.)

2016 MAC Women's Soccer Distinguished Scholar Athletes:
Alessandra Fistrovich, Ball State, Sophomore, 3.87, Chemistry (Indianapolis, Ind.)
^Alyssa Heintschel, Ball State, Junior, 4.0, Chemistry (Oregon, Ohio)
^*Leah Mattingly, Ball State, Senior, 3.90, Interior Design (Floyds Knobs, Ind.)
Chay McNitt, Ball State, Senior, 3.53, Geography (Fenton, Mich.)
Taylor Pooley, Ball State, Sophomore, 3.82, Psychological Science (Granger, Ind.)
Emily Scott, Ball State, Sophomore, 3.98, Organizational Communication (Rockford, Ill.)
^*Gabby Veldman, Ball State, Senior, 3.79, Exercise Science (South Bend, Ind.)

2016 MAC Women's Volleyball Distinguished Scholar Athletes:
Bailey Baumer, Ball State, Junior, 3.805, Nursing (Batesville, Ind.)
Emily Holland, Ball State, Sophomore, 3.935, Telecommunications (Madison, Ind.)
Sabrina Mangapora, Ball State, R-Junior, 3.963, Medical Preparation (Canfield, Ohio)

2016 MAC Football Distinguished Scholar Athletes:
Alex Joss, Ball State, R-Sophomore, 3.818 GPA, Finance (Novi, Mich.)

* – 2014 Distinguished Scholar Athlete
^ – 2015 Distinguished Scholar Athlete