2014 Men’s Basketball
Championship
Kittleson
LC
INDIANAPOLIS – Five previous winners, including a record setting three-time honoree, and two institutions with multiple winners highlight the Elite 89 awards from the NCAA 2012 spring championships.
Senior Kelsey Kittleson, a softball student-athlete at Luther, became the first student-athlete to be honored with an Elite 89 award three consecutive times in the same sport (Liz Phillips of Washington-St. Louis was the first to win the award three times, but between Division III women’s cross country and indoor track and field).
Of the remaining 35 student-athletes named as Elite 89 award winners, four others were honored for a second time at their respective sport championships, including: Bryan Chow, Williams, Division III men’s tennis; Kristen McGlynn, Adams State, Division II women’s outdoor track and field; Daniel Stapff, Barry, Division II men’s golf; and Miles Unterreiner, Stanford, Division I men’s outdoor track and field.
In addition, SUNY Cortland (Division III baseball and men’s and women’s lacrosse) featured three student-athletes named as award winners, while Alabama (Division I men’s golf and women’s tennis) featured two winners.
The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.
All GPAs are based on a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship.
The 36 award winners by sport and division (I, II, III or National Collegiate), school and major of study and GPA are:
| Sport (Division) | Name | School | Major | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball (I) | Erik Payne | South Carolina | International Business and Insurance and Risk Management | 3.897 |
| Baseball (II) | Benjamin Keller | Minnesota State -Mankato | Mechanical Engineering | 4.000 |
| Baseball (III) | Zachary Badanes | SUNY Cortland | Biology | 3.980 |
| Men’s Golf (I) | Cory Whitsett | Alabama | Management | 3.984 |
| Men’s Golf (II) | ** Daniel Stapff | Barry | Finance | 3.918 |
| Men’s Golf (III) | Michael Mortensen | St. Thomas (Minn.) | Actuarial Science | 3.935 |
| Women’s Golf (I) | Kim Kaufman | Texas Tech | Political Science | 4.000 |
| Women’s Golf (II) | Jenny Konop | Indianapolis | Biology | 3.932 |
| Women’s Golf (III) | Vanessa Kleckner | St. Olaf | Biology | 3.980 |
| Men’s Lacrosse (I) | Tyler Brenneman | Notre Dame | Economics and Political Science | 3.782 |
| Men’s Lacrosse (II) | Todd Nakasuji | Limestone | Business | 4.000 |
| Men’s Lacrosse (III) | Michael Tota | SUNY Cortland | Business Economics | 3.951 |
| Women’s Lacrosse (I) | Heather Wentz | Syracuse | Newspaper | 3.697 |
| Women’s Lacrosse (II) | Liz Wilson | West Chester (Pa.) | Special Education | 3.934 |
| Women’s Lacrosse (III) | Jamie Flood | Cortland | Kinesiology | 3.840 |
| Rowing (I) | Shelly Tremaglio | Cornell | History | 3.957 |
| Rowing (II) | Megan Northey | Western Washington | Kinesiology | 3.920 |
| Rowing (III) | Sarah Jane Otey | Coast Guard | Marine and Environmental Studies | 3.973 |
| Softball (I) | Alex Boulet | LSU | Mathematics | 3.986 |
| Softball (II) | Brianna Hancock | Valdosta State | Accounting and Finance | 3.950 |
| Softball (III) | *** Kelsey Kittleson | Luther | Biology | 4.000 |
| Men’s Tennis (I) | Bruno Abdelnour | Illinois | Mechanical Engineering | 3.969 |
| Men’s Tennis (II) | Ji Hoon Heo | Hawaii Pacific | International Studies | 3.920 |
| Men’s Tennis (III) | * Bryan Chow | Williams | Classics and Biology | 3.938 |
| Women’s Tennis (I) | Mary Anne Mcfarlane | Alabama | Human Performance and Exercise Science | 3.994 |
| Women’s Tennis (II) | Tabtip Louhabanjong | Indiana (Pa.) | Foreign Language, Literatures and Linguistics | 4.000 |
| Women’s Tennis (III) | Nandita Krishnan | Johns Hopkins | Public Health | 3.860 |
| Men’s Outdoor Track and Field (I) | ** Miles Unterreiner | Stanford | History | 3.960 |
| Men’s Outdoor Track and Field (II) | Dawson Vorderbruegge | CSU Stanislaus | English | 3.937 |
| Men’s Outdoor Track and Field (III) | Timothy Layng | Moravian | Biology | 3.956 |
| Women’s Outdoor Track and Field (I) | Ryann Kraiss | Kansas State | Psychology | 3.955 |
| Women’s Outdoor Track and Field (II) | * Kristen McGlynn | Adams State | English and Creative Writing | 4.000 |
| Women’s Outdoor Track and Field (III) | Jaela Dinsmore | Willamette | Latin America Studies and Spanish | 3.989 |
| Men’s Volleyball (NC) | Ian Karbiener | Lewis | Business Administration | 3.907 |
| Men’s Volleyball (III) | Steven Coniglio | Baruch | Actuarial Science | 3.897 |
| Women’s Water Polo (NC) | Kiara Cerda | Loyola Marymount | Biology | 3.950 |
| * — Repeat award winner | ** — Two-time award winner | *** — Three-time award winner | ||||
For more information on the Elite 89 award winners, click here.
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