July 12, 2002

Moraga, CA - The West Coast Conference announced the first ever Commissioner's Honor Roll earlier this month, which recognizes student-athletes who possess a minimum of a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. In the inaugural year of the honor, Saint Mary's placed 83 of its 206 WCC sport student-athletes on the list.

In all 709 student-athletes, who participated in one of the WCC's 13 sponsored sports, were honored from the league's eight member institutions. Only grades earned at WCC institutions may be used in calculating the grade point average for this award.

To be considered for this honor, student-athletes must meet three criteria. First the student-athletes must have earned a varsity letter in a sport which the conference determined a champion in the just-completed academic year. Secondly, the cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 must be based on a 4.0 scale. Finally, the individuals must have successfully completed an average of at least 12 graded credit hours, not including pass-fail hours, per term.

The honorees were separated into three categories based on grade point average. Student-athletes earning a GPA of 4.00-3.75 garnered Gold honors, those earning a 3.74-3.50 received Silver honors, and student athletes holding a 3.49-3.00 GPA received Bronze honors.

Saint Mary's had 13 student-athletes qualify for Gold honors, which was tied with Gonzaga for the conference high, 12 for Silver honors and 58 for Bronze honors. The Gold Honor recipients are listed below.

WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Recipients from Saint Mary's:
Alex Avina, Men's Soccer
Jen Belzer, Women's Soccer
Thomas Burgemeister, Men's Tennis
Tonja Cabatana, Women's Soccer
Christine Dennler, Women's Crew
Tara Doyle, Women's Rowing
Laura Hautala, Women's Cross Country
Kristin Hurst, Women's Cross Country
Lindsay Lopez, Women's Basketball
Strada Morris, Women's Cross Country
Arturo Planell, Men's Tennis
Frank Schmitt, Men's Tennis
Adam Thompson, Baseball