IOWA CITY, Iowa — Forty-two University of Iowa student-athletes have been honored by the Big Ten Conference with the Distinguished Scholar Award, it was announced Wednesday by the league office.
Among the Iowa honorees, 13 maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2015-16 academic term, including men’s basketball’s Mike Gesell, cross country’s Anthony Gregorio, football’s Ryan Ward, rowing’s Madeline Anglin, Skylar McSorley, and Hannah Rochford, soccer’s Sarah Mazur, swimming and diving’s Charles Holliday, Maverick Hovey, Roman Trussov, Maddie Bro, and Allie Orvis, and volleyball’s Alli O’Deen.
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. The recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and have a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.
The Big Ten recognized 914 student-athletes in 38 different sports as Distinguished Scholars, including 147 that maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term.
Men’s Basketball (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Mike Gesell – Gr. – Leisure Studies – South Sioux City, Neb.
Jarrod Uthoff – Gr. – Leisure Studies – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Women’s Basketball (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Ally Disterhoft – Jr. – Accounting & Finance – Iowa City, Iowa
Hailey Schneden – Jr. – Elemetary Education – Davenport, Iowa
Men’s Cross Country (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Anthony Gregorio – Sr. – Mechanical Engineering – Palatine, Ill.
Women’s Cross Country (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Marta Bote Gonzalez – So. – Marketing – Merida, Spain
Field Hockey (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Alexandra Pecora – Jr. – Political Science & Psychology – Marlton, N.J.
Football (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Ryan Ward – Sr. – Health & Human Physiology – Homer Glen, Ill.
Men’s Gymnastics (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Cyrus Dobre-Mofid – Gr. – Strategic Communication – Hagerstown, Md.
Austin Hodges – So. – Human Physiology – Lincolnshire, Ill.
Women’s Gymnastics (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Megan Ruzicka – So. – Actuarial Science – Plainfield, Ill.
Rowing (7)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Madeline Anglin – Sr. – Nursing – Metamora, Ill.
Katie Brown – Sr. – Psychology – Fox Lake, Ill.
Rachel Chambers – Sr. – Elementary Education – Glenview, Ill.
Hannah Hawks – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications – Mooresville, N.C.
Kaelynn Heiberg – So. – Sociology/Ethics & Public Policy – Minnetonka, Minn.
Skylar McSorley – Sr. – Speech & Hearing Science – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Hannah Rochford – Sr. – Interdepartmental Studies – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Women’s Soccer (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Tory Harman – Jr. – Therapeutic Recreation – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Sarah Mazur – Sr. – Electrical Engineering – La Grange, Ill.
Aubree Larson – So. – Industrial Engineering – Ankeny, Iowa
Softball (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Haley Hansel – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Spanish – Overland Park, Kan.
Sarah Kurtz – So. – Sport & Recreation Management – Herndon, Va.
Whitney Repole – Sr. – English – San Antonio, Texas
Men’s Swimming & Diving (5)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Colter Allen – So. – Finance & Asian Language & Literature – Zimmerman, Minn.
David Ernstsson – Sr. – Finance – Stockholm, Sweden
Charles Holliday – Sr. – Human Physiology – Rock Island, Ill.
Maverick Hovey – Sr. – Mechanical Engineering – Eden Prairie, Minn.
Roman Trussov – Sr. – Management – Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
Women’s Swimming & Diving (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Maddie Bro – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies – Ames, Iowa
Allie Orvis – Sr. – Art – Decorah, Iowa
Samantha Wagner – Sr. – Biomedical Engineering – Marion, Iowa
Women’s Tennis (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Aimee Tarun – Jr. – Sport & Recreation Management/Journalism & Mass Communications – Winnetaka, Ill.
Women’s Track & Field (4)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Heaven Chandler – Jr. – English/Ethics & Public Policy – Columbus Junction, Iowa
Allison Gattone – Sr. – Elementary Education – Libertyville, Ill.
Lindsay Herra – Jr. – Health & Human Physiology – Rockford, Ill.
Lake Kwaza – Sr. – Sport & Recreation Management – Sycamore, Ill.
Volleyball (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Loxley Keala – Jr. – Art History – Kanoehe, Hawaii
Alli O’Deen – Gr. – Health & Human Physiology – Iowa City, Iowa
Erin Radke – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Art – Sioux Falls, S.D.
Wrestling (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Nathan Burak – Sr. – Health & Human Physiology – Colorado Springs, Colo.
Patrick Rhoads – Sr. – Civil Engineering – Kansas City, Mo.
BOLD ITALICIZED names indicate student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.