Carolina Celebrates Academic Achievement At Annual Luncheon

Top 10 Scholar-Athlete honorees with Cunningham, Blouin and Folt

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

May 21, 2018 | Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Rowing, Women's Soccer, Track & Field, Swimming & Diving, Academics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Carolina Athletics recognized and celebrated student-athlete academic success at its annual Scholar-Athlete Awards luncheon, held on May 2. More than 200 Tar Heels were honored for their outstanding achievement during the Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 semesters.

At the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, the fifth-annual event included messages from Chancellor Carol Folt, who celebrated the students' determination and grit, and Provost Bob Blouin, who thanked them for the way they represent UNC athletically and academically.

The highlight of each year's event is the recognition of the Top 10 Scholar-Athletes, the five men and five women with the highest grade point averages among those graduating in 2018.

The Top 10 Scholar-Athletes for 2018 are:
• Emma Astrike-Davis (women's cross country/track & field)
Major: Nutrition
Faculty guest: Eric Klett (Asst. Professor of Medicine and Nutrition)
• Nils Bruening (men's soccer)
Major: Business Administration
Faculty guest: Doug Elvers (Adjunct Professor of Operations, Kenan-Flagler Business School)
• Bailey Burt (men's swimming & diving)
Major: Business Administration
Faculty guest: Jim Kitchen (Entrepreneur in Residence)
• Logan Carroll (men's cross country/track & field)
Major: Business Administration
Faculty guest: Greg Hohn (Senior Lecturer of Management and Corporate Communication, KFBS)
• Alex Comsia (men's soccer)
Major: Business Administration
Faculty guest: Shimul Melwani (Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, KFBS)
• Adelaide Cooke (rowing)
Majors: Chemistry and Biology
Faculty guest: Minh Huynh (Doctoral student in biochemistry and biophysics)
• Matt Cunningham (men's lacrosse)
Major: Business Administration
Faculty guest: Carol Wolf (Lecturer in Business Journalism)
• Jackie Kenny (rowing)
Major: English
Faculty guest: Marianne Gingher (Professor of English)
• Morgan Lane (gymnastics)
Major: Chemistry
Faculty guest: Kelly Hogan (STEM Teaching Associate Professor)
• Frances Reuland (women's soccer)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Faculty guest: Amy Cooke (Director of Undergraduate Studies, Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology)

Each student gave a short speech, introducing his or her invited faculty guest and telling of that person's impact. All also gave thanks to the additional professors, coaches, support staff members, teammates and families who have supported them. They offered a wealth of advice for other student-athletes, especially those with a few years still to spend in Chapel Hill. Among the tips were to take advantage of the resources offered and leverage the support available; be positive and find joy in the challenge; do what you love and don't let anyone stop you; realize how quickly your career will go by and get involved early; and always remember that as student-athletes they're representing something bigger than themselves.

UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham applauded the student-athletes, noting that the total of 385 Tar Heels on the 2016-17 ACC Academic Honor Roll was a record for the second year in a row, and also recognized those supporting them: Folt and Blouin, the faculty members in attendance, and the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes, which organized the luncheon.

Also recognized were members of the 4.0 Club, including one – Reuland – who earned a 4.0 in each semester of her career at UNC. She was one of five student-athletes to earn perfect grades in both Spring 2017 and Fall 2017. The others were Astrike-Davis, Kate Boyer (women's swimming & diving), Benjamin Cournoyer (wrestling) and A.J. Rechenmacher (wrestling).

Those earning a 4.0 in one semester or the other were:

Spring 2017: Ezra Baeli-Wang (men's fencing), Alicia Chen (women's fencing), Kyle Coniker (wrestling), Abby Fisher (women's swimming & diving), Paul Haley (men's track & field), Andrew Heise (men's swimming & diving), Makenna Jones (women's tennis), Jackie Kenny (rowing), Katie McKay (women's swimming & diving), Jose Montaño (men's golf), Patrick Riess (men's swimming & diving), Austin Vegas (men's track & field), Lauren Weisel (gymnastics), Harrison Young (men's track & field)

Fall 2017: Wei Chee Chen (women's fencing), Elissa Dawson (women's swimming & diving), Brendan Feehery (men's swimming & diving), Morgan Goetz (field hockey), Lindsey Lanier (women's cross country), Susanna LaRochelle (women's swimming & diving), Jared Martin (men's track & field), Kate Morris (women's soccer), Katie Grace Olinger (softball), Zack Olofson (men's soccer), Arielle Patra (rowing), Emerson Porter (women's track & field), Sofia Triana (rowing), Maya Worth (women's soccer)

Astrike-Davis, Cooke, Lane and Reuland were honored for earning Phi Beta Kappa induction during the 2017-18 academic year.

A total of 212 student-athletes were honored as Tar Heel Scholar-Athletes, for achieving a GPA of 3.2 or better in the spring and fall semesters of 2017.

Also recognized were:
• 2017-18 Athletic Director's Scholar-Athletes
• Those named to All-ACC Academic Teams in Spring 2017, Fall 2017 and Winter 2018
• Academic All-America and All-District honorees for Spring 2017, Fall 2017 and Winter 2018
• The ACC Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Reuland and Comsia
• Reuland as the recipient of this year's Wells Fargo Postgraduate Scholarship
• Emily Godwin (women's track & field), Lane and David October (men's soccer) as winners of ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarships
• Ben Griffin (men's golf) as the winner of the ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award
• Luke Maye (men's basketball) as the winner of the Skip Prosser Award as the ACC Men's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year
• Lane as the EAGL Scholar of the Year
• Nicole Greene as 2018 ACC Women's Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Hayley Carter as 2017 Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year; and Marie McCool as 2017 Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year