Knoppe and Averkamp Earn Scholar-Athlete of the Month Honors

INDIANAPOLIS – University of Illinois-Chicago’s Jana Knoppe and Loyola’s Ben Averkamp have been named the Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Month for the month of February.

Knoppe, a women’s tennis player for UIC, posted a 5-1 singles record during the month of February including wins over Toledo, Bowling Green, Iowa State and Illinois State. She ended the month on a three-match winning streak in singles play. The sophomore teamed up with Linda Hricistova to win three doubles matches during the month and was named the Horizon League Player of the Week the first week in February after going 2-0 in singles play. As a team, the Flames went 5-1 during the course of the month.

Off the field, Knoppe is a civil engineering major and holds a team-best 3.84 cumulative GPA. She had a fall GPA of 3.82.

Averkamp, a men’s basketball player at Loyola, averaged 20.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.6 apg, while shooting 53 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line in February. He was named Second Team All-Horizon League to become the first Rambler since 2007 to earn all-league accolades. He only needs 11 points and 27 rebounds to become the 19th player in Loyola history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for his career. The junior scored in double figures in all seven of his appearances in February and topped the 20-point mark four times. Averkamp also recorded a pair of double-doubles in February. In addiiton, he also notched 23 points, six boards and four assists at Butler (Feb. 14) and totaled 26 points and 10 rebounds against Green Bay (Feb. 23).

The biology major posted a fall GPA of 3.78 and is a member of the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. Averkamp was also named to the Capital One First Team Academic All-District V in 2012 and a part of the Horizon League Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team in 2011. He is also a member of both the Loyola and Horizon League Student-Athlete Advisory Committees.

The Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Month recognizes outstanding academic and athletic achievements. To be eligible for the honor, the 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, passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and perform well during the month’s competition. Winners are selected by the League’s faculty athletics representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.