April 25, 2012
CHICAGO- UIC student-athletes, coaches and staff from all 19 sports congregated at the Student Services Building Tuesday night to celebrate the Flames' academic success at the annual "Night of Champions" Academic Banquet.
"We enjoyed another great night recognizing the tremendous academic achievements of our student-athletes," said Athletic Director Jim Schmidt. "When I speak to fans, donors and supporters of our athletic program, one thing I am extremely proud to be able to talk about is our impressive success in the classroom. I want to congratulate our student-athletes, and thank Sam Rush, Denny Wills, Shannon Norkus, Antwan Joseph and the rest of the Academic Staff for their hard work both during the semester and in putting on a great event to celebrate our success in the classroom."
The 15-time conference champion UIC women's tennis team was named the Academic Team of the Year. The Flames will take the court this weekend as the top seed in the Horizon League Tournament in Indianapolis. During the 2011 fall semester, head coach Shannon Tully'steam posted a 3.57 collective grade-point-average.
Lukasz Adamczyk of the men's gymnastics team, and men's tennis player Gautham Oroskarwere named the Co-Male Athletes of the Year. Adamczyk also received the prestigious Elite 89 award during the NCAA men's gymnastics banquet in Norman, Okla., last weekend. Oroskar won four singles matches during the 2012 season, including a straight-set win over his counterpart from Valparaiso in the Horizon League regular season finale last Sunday. Both Adamczyk and Oroskar posted perfect 4.0 GPA's during the 2011 fall semester.
Five female student-athletes shared the Female Athlete of the Year award: Mariya Denisenko (women's track & field), Jacki Fletcher (softball), Linda Hricistova (women's tennis), Emily Lawrence(women's gymnastics) and Coryn Schmidt (softball). Lawrence and Schmidt became repeat winners, after sharing the Female Athlete of the Year honor last year. All five of this year's honorees earned flawless 4.0 GPA's during the fall.
Prestigious scholarship awards, such as the Avery Brundage Scholarship, the Thomas Beckham Scholarship, the Colvin Communication Scholarship, the Don Nash Scholarship, the Port Academic Center Scholarship and the Aileen S. Andrew Scholarship, were presented to deserving UIC student-athletes, and the student-athlete with the highest grade point average on each team was honored.
Adamczyk earned the Avery Brundage Scholarship, while trackster Cody Lee and Erin Duggan of the women's gymnastics team were the Thomas Beckham Scholarship recipients. Nick Addison from the baseball team earned the Colvin Communications Scholarship; women's basketball's Shamiea Green, a current graduate student, received the Don Nash Scholarship; Oroskar and Jana Knoppe from the women's tennis team shared the Aileen S. Andrew Scholarship, while women's basketball's Kiara Stricklandwas presented the Port Academic Center Scholarship.
For the second-straight semester, UIC student-athletes compiled a 3.0 grade-point-average during the 2011 Fall Semester -- the collective 3.0 GPA represented the second-best mark in school history, just behind the 3.06 mark compiled last spring. Team-by-Team Academic Athletic Honor Roll Award Winners (2011-12)
Baseball
Zenon Kolakowski, 3.62 GPA (Education)
Men's Basketball
Anthony Kelley, 3.17 GPA (Exercise & Fitness)
Women's Basketball
Shamiea Green, 4.0 GPA (Instructional Leadership [Educational Policy Studies])
Men's Cross Country
Brian Denk, 3.55 GPA (History)
Women's Cross Country
Aimee Schuh, 3.36 GPA (Movement Sciences)
Men's Gymnastics
Lukasz Adamczyk, 4.0 GPA (Undeclared)
Women's Gymnastics
Emily Lawrence, 4.0 GPA (Psychology)
Men's Soccer
Peter Hanula, 3.75 GPA (Computer Science)
Softball
Jacki Fletcher, 4.0 GPA (Movement Sciences)
Coryn Schmidt, 4.0 GPA (Movement Sciences)
Men's Swimming & Diving
Woody Lord, 3.36 GPA (Undeclared)
Women's Swimming & Diving
Sarah Harper, 3.84 GPA (English)
Men's Tennis
Gautham Oroskar, 4.0 GPA (Bioengineering)
Women's Tennis
Linda Hricistova, 3.85 GPA (Finance)
Men's Track & Field
Josh Stanner, 3.04 GPA (Finance)
Women's Track & Field
Mariya Denisenko, 4.0 GPA (Kinesiology)
Volleyball
MaryKate Imrie, 3.56 GPA (Undeclared)
