Milwaukee's Leibold, Wright State's Weidert Named Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week

Jan. 29, 2008

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INDIANAPOLIS -- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior Robby Liebold (men's swimming) and Wright State University senior Jessica Weidert (women's swimming) have been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Tuesday (Jan. 29).

Leibold won the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events to lead the Panthers past Western Illinois University on Saturday (Jan. 26), giving UWM its third consecutive dual-meet victory. The junior posted a 4:48.87 clocking in the 500 event and finished the 1,000-yard event with a time of 9:37.25. He also finished second in the 200-yard butterfly, and has won 18 events with six runner-up showings in 28 races this season.

In the classroom, Leibold carries a 3.278 grade-point average as a health sciences major. This is his third Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Week honor of the year and the fourth of his career. Leibold also was tabbed as the League's Scholar-Athlete of the Month for November and earned Academic All-League recognition last winter.

Weidert won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke races in Saturday's dual-meet victory over Xavier University. Her 2:21.06 effort in the 200 eclipsed her own pool record by more than one second and was nearly nine seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, while her 1:07.00 finish in the 100 was more than two seconds faster than the rest of the field. Weidert also was a member of WSU's winning 200-yard medley relay team.

In the classroom, Weidert owns a perfect 4.00 grade-point average as a modern language major. She has earned High Honors in every quarter during her four-year career. Weidert was an Academic All-League choice in 2006-07, and was named Wright State's Quad-Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2006.

The Horizon League instituted the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards as a way to recognize outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. 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 week's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.Comprised of ten public and private institutions of higher learning, the Horizon League is an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 intercollegiate championship sports and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The League and its member institutions aspire to teach young people, through athletic competition, the value of learning, service to others and personal responsibility.

OTHER MALE NOMINEES:

Phil Orno, Cleveland State (tennis, sophomore, 3.40, English) posted a pair of victories in CSU's 4-3 victory over Xavier on Friday (Jan. 25). He teamed with Ryan Hamning for a 9-8 triumph at the No. 1 doubles position and added a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles as the Vikings defeated their instate rival.

Travis Masters, Green Bay (swimming, sophomore, 3.574, biology) won two individual events to help pace the Phoenix past Western Illinois on Friday. He won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:45.96 and claimed the 100-yard backstroke title with a :55.40 performance. Masters also swam the opening leg on Green Bay's winning 200-yard medley relay team.

Aric VanWeelden, Loyola (basketball, sophomore, 3.52, business) contributed six points, two rebounds and two steals as the Ramblers split two road games. He tallied six points and both rebounds in Thursday's (Jan. 24) loss to 15th-ranked Butler, and hit a three-point field goal to help Loyola post a 65-63 victory at Valparaiso on Saturday (Jan. 26).

Chris Honig, Valparaiso (indoor track and field, junior, 3.560, history) recorded two top-ten finishes at the Findlay Classic over the weekend. He crossed the line second in the mile, completing the distance with a time of 4:19.36. Honig followed that effort with a ninth-place showing in the 3,000 meters, crossing the line in 9:11.38.

OTHER FEMALE NOMINEES:

Kailey Klein, Cleveland State (basketball, sophomore, 3.40, business) posted her first collegiate double-double with 30 points and a career-high 11 rebounds as the Vikings defeated Youngstown State 77-64 on Saturday. Klein hit 11 of 18 shots from the field, including three three-pointers. She also made five of six free-throw attempts and dished out three assists as CSU moved into third place in the League standings.

Erin Templin, Green Bay (basketball, junior, 3.556, business administration) helped keep the Phoenix in first place, averaging 14 points and 8.5 rebounds in two victories. She netted a career-high 17 points---double her season average---as Green Bay defeated Loyola on Wednesday (Jan. 23), hitting seven of nine shots from the field. Templin posted her first career double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds Saturday against UIC.

Elyse VanBogaert, Loyola (basketball, sophomore, 3.65, undeclared) averaged 6.5 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in a pair of games last week. She had seven points, five boards, three assists and two blocks in a three-point loss at Milwaukee on Saturday, following a six-point, two-block effort at League-leader Green Bay on Wednesday.

Rachel Majercik, Valparaiso (swimming, sophomore, 3.22, accounting) was a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay quartet against UIC on Saturday. She also finished second in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.08) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.94) in the dual meet. The butterfly timing was 0.16 seconds off her season-best time.

Olivia Arnold, Youngstown State (swimming, junior, 3.48, political science) set a school record and won three events in the Penguins' dual meet versus Akron on Saturday. She eclipsed her own YSU standard with a 10:38.91 performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle and also touched first in the 500-yard freestyle with her 5:16.09 clocking. Arnold's day also featured a third victory with a 2:16.89 effort in the 200-yard individual medley.

PREVIOUS U.S. ARMY SCHOLAR-ATHLETES:
Aug. 28 - Nina Inic (Butler, volleyball)
Sept. 5 - Ryan Miller (Green Bay, cross country); Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Sept. 11 - Chris Honig (Valparaiso, cross country); Katarina Hanackova (UIC, volleyball)
Sept. 18 - Malcolm DeBaun (Loyola, soccer); Betty Slinger (Green Bay, volleyball)
Sept. 25 - Markian Zyga (Loyola, soccer); Sara Hughes (Valparaiso, volleyball)
Oct. 2 - Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Ani Michl (Valparaiso, soccer)
Oct. 9 - Zeke Dombrowski (Milwaukee, soccer); Lotte Rasmussen (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 16 - Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Amanda Stinson (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 23 - Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Alyse Serritella (Loyola, volleyball)
Oct. 30 - Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Genni Gardner (Butler, cross country)
Nov. 6 - Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Beth Steuer (Milwaukee, soccer)
Nov. 13 - Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Cynthia Morote-Ariza (Loyola, soccer)
Nov. 20 - Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Mel Snyder (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Nov. 27 - A.J. Graves (Butler, basketball); Kailey Klein (Cleveland State, basketball)
Dec. 4 - Drew Streicher (Butler, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 11 - Jake Diebler (Valparaiso, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 18 - Samuel Haanpää (Valparaiso, basketball); Leah Hochstetler (Valparaiso, basketball)
Jan. 8 - Ryan Tillema (Green Bay, basketball); Kayla Groh (Green Bay, basketball)
Jan. 15 - Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Kari Helland (Green Bay, diving)
Jan. 22 - Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, indoor track & field), Kelsey Hausken (Green Bay, swimming)