Butler's Streicher, Wright State's Weidert Named Scholar-Athletes of the Month for February
March 5, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -
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Butler University senior Drew Streicher (men's basketball) and Wright State University senior Jessica Weidert (women's swimming) have been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Month for February, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Wednesday (March 5).
Streicher helped Butler to a 7-1 record and a Top-10 national ranking during the month of February, as the Bulldogs clinched their first outright regular season championship since 2003. Streicher started all eight games, and was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team for the 2007-08 season.
In the classroom, Streicher maintains a 4.0 grade-point average as a graduate student pursuing his master's degree in business administration. He posted an undergraduate GPA of 3.95 as he majored in chemistry, and has been accepted to medical school at Indiana University, starting in the fall of 2008. Streicher's academic accolades include being named to the Academic All-League Team and to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll last year. For the 2007-08 season, he was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-Distrect V, after being a Third-Team Academic All-America selection.
Weidert earned three individual titles at the Horizon League Swimming & Diving Championships, setting a new League record with each victory. She won the 200-yard breaststroke, and both the 200 and 400-yard individual medley races on her way to being named the Horizon League Swimmer of the Meet and Athlete of the Year. Weidert was undefeated (8-0) in the 200 breaststroke this season.
As a modern language major, Weidert maintains a perfect 4.00 grade-point average. She has earned the Highest Honors during every quarter at Wright State, and was named to the Academic All-League team in 2007.
The Horizon League instituted the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards in 2006 as a way to supplement recognition of outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. That commitment continued with the addition of the U.S. Scholar-Athlete of the Month awards in the fall of 2007. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution and passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours, and perform well during the month's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.
OTHER MALE NOMINEES:
Josh Geric, Cleveland State (baseball, senior, 3.300, health sciences) batted .400 with two runs, one double, and two runs batted in as CSU opened the season with a 1-3 mark. In an 8-5 victory at 22nd-ranked Louisville on Feb. 24, Geric went one-for-three and drove in two runs as the Vikings upset the Cardinals.
Matt McCabe, Loyola (track & field, sophomore, 3.48, finance/marketing) placed second in the 3,000-meter run at the Panther Tune-Up with a personal-best time of 8:59.46.
Steve Bartholomew, Valparaiso (indoor track & field, senior, 3.281, management) started out the month holding the school record in the weight throw with a distance of 60 feet 8 3/4 inches, and surpassed that mark in all three meets in February. He won the weight throw at the DePauw Invitational on Feb. 19 with a mark of 61 feet before breaking his own record on Feb. 27 at the Panther Tune-Up with a toss of 63 feet 4 inches.
Nathan Demchuk, Wright State (swimming, sophomore, 3.386, biological sciences) led the Raiders to the men's Horizon League championship by posting victories in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:18.59) and the 400-yard individual medley (3:56.21), and taking second-place in the 200-yard backstroke (1:49.89). He was also part of the winning 800-yard freestyle relay that set a new Horizon League record. As a result of his championship performances, he was named Co-Swimmer of the Meet and Co-Athlete of the Year.
OTHER FEMALE NOMINEES:
Whitney Willard, Cleveland State (softball, senior, 3.440, art) helped the Vikings to a 5-2 month by hitting a team-best .429 with six runs, two doubles and a team-high nine runs batted in through seven games. At the UNC Greensboro Classic, Willard went five-for-10 with four RBIs, three runs scored, and three stolen bases in four games. She was a perfect three-for-three with an intentional walk in a 5-1 victory over Central Michigan, where she scored once and drove in another run.
Kayla Groh, Green Bay (basketball, senior, 3.689, business administration) averaged 15.0 points per game during Green Bay's 7-0 month. At UIC on Feb. 21, she tied a career-high with 24 points, and scored the 1,000th point of her career. She also shot 45.8 percent from three-point range during the month, and registered a 1.53 assist/turnover ratio.
Kat Krause, Loyola (softball, senior, 3.82, psychology) batted .412 with two home runs, five runs scored, four RBIs and four stolen bases during the month of February. In a 12-11 victory over UNLV on Feb. 8, Krause clubbed a pair of home runs, drove in three runs, and scored four before being named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week for her efforts. She also went 1-for-2 with an RBI in an 8-6 loss to second-ranked Arizona State on Feb. 10.
Holly Nearman, Milwaukee (track & field, sophomore, 3.702, journalism) helped the Panthers to a runner-up finish at the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships, as she won the title in the 5,000-meter run (17:24.46), and was named to the All-League Second-Team as runner-up in the 3,000-meter run. Earlier in the month, she also won the mile at the Panther Tune-Up, and took third in the 5,000 at the Northern Iowa Classic with a time of 17:21.08.
Agnieszka Kulaga, Valparaiso (basketball, junior, 3.78, international business) averaged 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game as Valpo went 5-4 in February. She scored in double figures in seven of the nine games, including a 20-point performance against regular-season champion Green Bay.
Previous U.S. Army Scholar-Athletes of the Month:
August/September: Mark Sommerfeld, Detroit (Golf); Betty Slinger, Green Bay (Volleyball)
October: Robby Leibold, Milwaukee (Swimming); Tara Geegan, Wright State (Volleyball)
November: Mike Schactner, Green Bay (Basketball); Tara Geegan, Wright State (Volleyball)
December: Samuel Haanpää, Valparaiso (Basketball); Elyse VanBogaert, Loyola (Basketball)
January: Ryan Tillema, Green Bay (Basketball); Kailey Klein, Cleveland State (Basketball)
