15 Tartans Earn UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Recognition

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - Carnegie Mellon University had 15 student-athletes named to the 14th annual University Athletic Association (UAA) Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Team, as announced by the league’s office on Tuesday, September 12. The 15 Tartans, six from men’s track and field men’s cross country, two from women’s track and field, and one each from women’s basketball, women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis, and volleyball, received the prestigious honor along with 117 other student-athletes representing all eight UAA member institutions.

To achieve this recognition, a student-athlete is required to earn first-team All-Association honors and must carry a 3.50 or greater cumulative grade point average through the playing season of their sport. Student-athletes must have completed one full year at that institution to qualify.

Of this year’s 132 honorees, 21 were named the most outstanding performer or most valuable player in their sport by their respective UAA coaches’ group and two were awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The UAA Presidents Council created this special recognition in 2009. The original recommendation to establish this honor came from the UAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was supported by the Athletic Administrators and Delegates Committees.

The UAA has recognized exceptional academic achievement by its student-athletes since 1998 when the Presidents Council established a program of All-Academic recognition for student-athletes who carry a cumulative grade point average that meets the threshold for Academic All-America® recognition. On average, approximately 60% of eligible sophomore, junior, and senior student-athletes from UAA member teams have met that threshold each year.

“While our student-athletes appreciated the All-Academic recognition, they sought something that would more directly recognize the combination of academic and athletic excellence that is at the core of the UAA philosophy,” commented UAA Executive Vice President Dick Rasmussen. “In proposing the concept of the award, one of our SAAC members suggested — ‘as UAA student-athletes this is what we do, this is who we are.’”

As a group, UAA student-athletes and teams have consistently demonstrated high levels of both academic and athletic achievement. The UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Team recognition demonstrates the success of these principles at the level of the individual student-athlete.

The full list of Carnegie Mellon student-athletes that were honored is listed below.

Liz Barre – SR – Women’s Track and Field
Cody Breidenbach – SO – Men’s Track and Field
Sean Dutton – SO – Men’s Track and Field
Samantha Giordani – SR – Women’s Track and Field
Alex Halkias – SR – Men’s Track and Field
Erika Heffernen – JR – Softball
Alex Ivanov – JR – Men’s Track and Field
Kelli Kuramoto – JR – Women’s Swimming and Diving
Rachel Legg – SR – Women’s Soccer
Andrew McGovern – JR – Men’s Track and Field
Catherine Or – SO – Women’s Basketball
Casey Potrebic – SO – Men’s Track and Field
Stella Yan – SR – Volleyball
Sarah Yang – SO – Women’s Tennis
Kaylin Yeoh – SO – Women’s Golf

Repeat honorees include Barre, Giordanni, Heffernen, and McGovern.