The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Athletics Department honors student-athletes for achievement off the field
04.26.2005 | Men's Swimming and Diving
A record crowd of 355 that included honored guests, their families and University of Texas staff members were on hand to recognize student-athletes achievements off of the playing field at the Ninth Annual Men's Athletics Academic Awards Presentation Monday night at the Frank Erwin Center's Lone Star Room. All totalled, 123 student-athletes and 40 student support staffers were recognized for achieving at least a 3.0 grade point average during the 2004 calendar year.
"This is one of my favorite nights and it seems to get better every year," said DeLoss Dodds, UT's Men's Athletics Director. "We place a great deal of emphasis on academics and are extemely proud of everything our student-athletes work so hard to achieve on and off the playing field. We understand the challenges and demands they face and this is a great opportunity for our athletics family to reward them for their dedication and hard work in the classroom."
The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Bruce Walker, UT's Vice Provost and Director of Admissions. He spoke to the group about setting goals, never giving up and the power of positive thinking. Walker, who has been with The University since 1996, has worked to develop and implement policies for enrollment management along with scholarship and financial aid programs. Dr. Walker is currently Chair, National Guidance and Admissions Council of the College Board, and Chair, University Enrollment Management Steering Committee at UT-Austin.
"The quality of student-athletes we attract at The University of Texas never ceases to amaze me," said Dr. Michael Sanders, the Director of Texas' Life Skills Program who has coordinated each of the nine Academic Awards Banquets. "We had three wonderful speeches with strong messages from our Athletics Director, an important member of our university community and one of our student-athletes. And, we had an opportunity to honor almost half of our men's student-athletes on campus for achieving a high level of success in the classroom. It was a terrific night."
Nine Longhorn student-athletes and two student support staffers were honored with Provost Awards for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA for at least one semester in 2004. That group included Tod Bondy (football), Dustin Bynum (track & field), Xang Chareunsab (football), Mark Floreani (track & field), Dallas Griffin (football), David Kahn (swimming & diving), Cody Kelso (student manager), Charles Kourvelas (track & field), Karim Meijer (football), Chad Sour (student manager) and Ryan Wilson (track & field).
The Lan Hewlett Award winners, which goes to a junior or senior letterman with the highest cumulative GPA in each of Texas' men's sports, were honored as well. They were: Trey Bates (football), Floreani (track & field), Jason Glynn (football), Roger Gubser (tennis), Kahn (swimming & diving), Dooley Prince (baseball) and Matt Rosenfeld (golf).
Rainer Kendrick, a senior from Birmingham (Homewood HS), Alabama, earned UT's Academic Services Student-Athlete Award. An All-American performer on the Longhorn swimming & diving squad, he was presented with the honor by UT's assistant swimming coach Kris Kubik. The award is chosen by the Academic Services Staff and is given to a student-athlete who best exemplifies the balance both on the field of athletic competition and in the classroom.
Longhorn All-American linebacker and National Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, Derrick Johnson, received the evenings most prestigious award, the Texas Exes Leadership Award. That honor recognizes a UT men's athlete who embodies the attributes that are valued in alumni leadership. Johnson was recommended for the honor by Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds and approved by UT President Larry Faulkner. It includes a Life Membership to the Texas Exes and is funded by the President's Leadership Award Endowment, which was created by UT benefactor Frank Denius in 1985.
A first round NFL draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, Johnson was with his new team and unable to attend. John Adkins, the President of the Texas Alumni Association presented the honor to Johnson's mother Beverly at the event.
Senior All-American distance runner Mark Floreani capped off a spectacular evening, eloquently responding on behalf of all of the honorees, a much anticipated annual climax to the event. Balancing whit and charm within a fluid, gracious message of gratitude for support and opportunity.
Floreani encouraged the student-athletes in attendance to continue to take advantage of all of the resources they have at UT. Floreani took time to personally thank Dodds, who he called "the best AD in the country."
"You provide us with everything we could possibly need to succeed," Floreani said. "Sometimes I'm embarrassed when I talk to athletes at other schools because we are treated so well here."
Texas' Athletics Department invests almost $2 million annually for student academic services like counseling and facilities and on Monday night at the Erwin Center, the steady flow of academic success stories is evidence that the investment is paying off.
Academic Award Recipients
Baseball
Drew Bishop, Freshman - Rockwall (Rockwall), Texas Buck Cody, Senior - Oklahoma City (Casady), Texas J. Brent Cox, Senior - Bay City (Bay City), Texas Seth Johnston, Senior - Boerne (Boerne), Texas Carson Kainer, Sophomore - Tomball (Tomball), Texas Pack Landfair, Senior - Springfield (West Springfield), Virginia Dooley Prince, Senior - Sulphur (Sulphur/McNeese State), Louisiana Andy Reese, Freshman - Austin (Westlake), Texas Clayton Stewart, Senior - Angleton (Angleton/San Jacinto College), Texas Jordon Street, Freshman - Austin (Westlake), Texas Drew Stubbs, Sophomore - Atlanta (Atlanta), Texas
Basketball
Adam Gracely, Senior - Houston (St. Johns's), Texas Kenton Paulino, Junior - Los Angeles (Maine Central Institute), California
Football
Will Allen, Senior - Houston (Cypress Falls), Texas Steven Andrade, Senior - San Antonio (Southwest), Texas James Baker, Senior - Austin (Westlake), Texas Trey Bates, Senior - Missouri City (Elkins), Texas Justin Blalock, Junior - Plano (East), Texas Rashad Bobino*, Freshman - West Texas City (LaMarque), Texas Todd Bondy*, Sophomore - Southlake (Carroll), Texas Ben Campos, Junior - New Braunfels (New Braunfels), Texas Matthew Cannon*, Junior - The Woodlands (The Woodlands), Texas Brian Carter, Senior - The Woodlands (The Woodlands), Texas Xang Chareunsab*, Senior - Houston (Aldine MacArthur), Texas Rob Crawley, Senior - Denison (Denison), Texas Scott Derry, Sophomore - Pearland (Pearland), Texas Brandon Foster*, Sophomore - Arlington (Bowie), Texas Adair Fragoso, Senior - El Paso (Faith Christian Academy), Texas Jason Glynn, Senior - Richardson (Berkner), Texas Dallas Griffin*, Sophomore - Katy (Taylor), Texas Michael Griffin, Junior - Austin (Bowie), Texas Antwaun Hobbs, Junior - Garland (South Garland), Texas Matt Hofer, Sophomore - Dallas (Roosevelt), Texas Steven Hogan, Sophomore - Sugar Land (Stake Jesuit), Texas Greg Johnson, Junior - Lilburn (Parkview/Vanderbilt), Texas Wesley Jones, Junior - Bellville (Bellville), Texas Taylor Landin, Senior - Sugar Land (Elkins), Texas Dusty Mangum, Senior - Mesquite (Mesquite), Texas Mark McCoy, Junior - Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas), Texas Matthew McCoy, Junior - Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas), Texas Richmond McGee, Senior - Garland (Garland), Texas Karim Meijer*, Senior - Katy (Taylor), Texas Matt Melton, Junior - Flint (Tyler-John Tyler), Texas Dustin Miksch, Junior - Austin (Westwood), Texas Matt Nordgren, Senior - Dallas (Bishop Lynch), Texas Yomi Odunsi, Senior - Sugar Land (Clements), Texas Christopher Ogbonnaya, Freshman - Missouri (Strake Jesuit), Texas Jason Perez, Senior - San Angelo (Central), Texas Kyle Phillips, Senior - Cypress (Cy-Fair), Texas Billy Pittman, Sophomore - Cameron (Yoe), Texas Brad Poronsky, Senior - Air Force Academy (Air Academy), Colorado Brian Robison, Junior - Splendora (Splendora), Texas Nick Schroeder, Senior - The Woodlands (The Woodlands), Texas Jonathan Scott, Senior - Dallas (Carter), Texas Cody Stavig, Senior - Clackamas (Clackamas), Oregon Stevie Stigall*, Senior - Emery (Rains), Texas Anthony Strong, Senior - Houston (Aldine MacArthur), Texas Mike Taylor, Freshman - Austin (Austin), Texas Clayton Tefteller*, Junior - Gilmer (Gilmer), Texas David Thomas, Senior - Wolfforth (Frenship), Texas Luke Tiemann, Sophomore - Pflugerville (Pflugerville), Texas Neale Tweedie, Junior - Lucas (Allen), Texas Peter Ullman, Freshman - Austin (Round Rock), Texas Jerren Wright, Senior - Houston (Jersey Village), Texas Rodrique Wright, Senior - Houston (Alief Hastings), Texas
Golf
Jeffery Bell, Junior - Plano (Plano West), Texas Hector Diaz-Ceballos, Freshman - Morelos (Bradenton [FL] Academy), Mexico Shaun Goodwin, Senior - Spring (Klein Oak/Sam Houston State), Texas Jason Hartwick, Senior - Sacramento (Jesuit), California Farren Keenan, Sophomore - Middlesex (Kingston Grammar), England Michael Randle, Freshman - Austin (Lake Travis), Texas Matthew Rosenfeld, Junior - Plano (Greenhill School), Texas Kevin Schultz, Freshman - Richardson (Berkner), Texas Jhonattan Vegas, Sophomore - Maturin (Cicilio Acosta), Venezuela
Swimming & Diving
Blake Copple, Sophomore - Boise (Bishop Kelly), Idaho Ian Crocker, Junior - Portland (Cheverus), Maine Dan DiToro, Senior - Brant Rock (Chaparral), Massachusetts Brendan Hansen, Senior - Haverford (Haverford Township), Pennsylvania Jeremy Harris, Freshman - St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy), Minnesota David Kahn*, Junior - Port Jefferson (Earl Vandermeulen), New York Wade Kelley, Junior - Marietta (Walton), Georgia Rainer Kendrick, Senior - Birmingham (Homewood), Alabama Matthew Lowe, Freshman - Minot (Minot), North Dakota Austin McAnally, Senior - McKinney (McKinney), Texas Matthew McGinnis, Freshman - Raleigh (Ravenscroft), North Carolina Matt Molnar, Junior - Auburn (Auburn), Alabama John Nabors, Senior - Spring (Oak Ridge), Texas Nathan O'Brien, Senior - Sammamish (Eastlake), Washington Tyler O'Halloran, Sophomore - Boardman (Boardman), Ohio John Patterson, Junior - Houston (Cypress Falls), Texas Poston Pritchett, Sophomore - Durham (Riverside), North Carolina Sean Riley, Sophomore - Tewksbury (Tewksbury), Massachusetts Christopher Seitz, Freshman - Taylor Mill (Scott), Kentucky Brian Smith, Freshman - Carrollton (Creekview), Texas Garrett Weber-Gale, Sophomore - Fox Point (Nicolet), Wisconsin
Tennis
Hubert Chodkiewicz, Sophomore - Corpus Christi (St. Stephens), Texas Luis Diaz-Barriga Ibannez, Freshman - Cordoba (Sagemont Virtual), Mexico Roger Gubser, Sophomore - Laredo (St. Stephen's-Austin), Texas Jeremy Hubbard, Junior - Lindale (Lindale/Tyler Junior College), Texas Milan Mihailovic, Freshman - Nis (Gimnazija Svetozar Markovic), Serbia Garrett Snyder, Sophomore - Newport Beach (Corona del Mar), California
Track & Field
Kevin Barra, Graduated - Katy (Taylor), Texas Alan Bean, Sophomore - Dalhart (Dalhart), Texas Dustin Bynum*, Freshman - Corpus Christi (Flour Bluff), Texas Matt Caterisano, Senior - Plano (East), Texas Jeffrey Cutrer, Junior - Nederland (Nederland), Texas Thomas Engwall, Graduate Student - Hutchinson (St. John's), Minnesota Tomas Finol, Junior - Spring (Klein), Texas Mark Floreani*, Senior - Chicago (St. Ignatius), Illinois Jay Fuquay, Senior - Arlington (Martin), Texas Donovan Kilmartin, Sophomore - Eagle (Eagle), Idaho Charles Kourvelas*, Sophomore - Dallas (J.J. Pearce), Texas Leonel Manzano, Freshman - Marble Falls (Marble Falls), Texas Brandon McFarling, Sophomore - College Station (A & M Consolidated) Andrew Middleton, Junior - College Station (A & M Consolidated) Matt Munoz, Sophomore - Kingwood (Kingwood), Texas Mark Nichol, Graduate Student - Short Hills (Millburn/Dartmouth), New Jersey John Rouse, Freshman - Kaufman (Crandall), Texas Nicholas Talley, Senior - Amarillo (Tascosa), Texas Joseph Thorne, Junior, Chamblee (Lakeside), Georgia Jon Von Letscher, Senior - Austin (McCallum), Texas Ryan Wilson*, Sophomore - Wichita (Wichita Heights), Kansas Zachary Zeller, Senior - Flower Mound (Marcus), Texas
Managers
Lucas Chapman, Senior - Jourdanton (Jourdanton), Texas Darren Damewood, Senior - Plano (Plano East Senior), Texas Kyle Folts, Senior - Round Rock (McNeil), Texas Ryan Grammier, Junior - Rosharon (Angleton), Texas Hunter Haglund, Senior - Lufkin (Lufkin/Austin Community College), Texas Dan Huskerson, Junior - Sweetwater (Sweetwater), Texas Adam Katlin, Sophomore - Highland Park (Highland Park), Illinois Cody Kelso*, Senior - Helotes (Taft), Texas Lauren Mayer, Senior - Austin (Connally), Texas Brett Miksch, Junior - Sweeny (Sweeny), Texas Chris Mudge, Junior - Round Rock (Stony Point), Texas George Reid, Senior - Manor (Manor), Texas George Rodman, Junior - Austin (Westlake), Texas Aaron Scott, Senior - Missouri City (Elkins), Texas Tres Seglar, Junior - College Station (A & M Consolidated), Texas Jeremy Smith, Senior - Centerville (Centerville), Texas Chad Sour*, Senior - Shreveport (C.E. Byrd), Louisiana Anthony Tarantino, Senior - Sugar Land (Dulles), Texas Randyn Tenery, Junior - Sweetwater (Sweetwater), Texas
Trainers
Ryan Abbott, Junior - San Antonio (Tuloso-Midway), Texas Adele Bosquez, Senior - McAllen (McAllen), Texas Derrick Chan, Junior - Kingwood (Kingwood/North Harris Montgomery), Texas Kasey Collier, Junior - Snyder (Snyder/Austin Community College), Texas Gerry Garcia, Junior - Helotes (Sandra Day O'Conner), Texas Alyssa Garza, Sophomore - Edinburg (Edcouch-Elsa), Texas Brittany Gunter, Sophomore - Baytown (Sterling), Texas Jeniece Hernandez, Sophomore - San Antonio (Southwest), Texas Erin Hicks, Senior - Rogers (Rogers), Texas John Horsley, Senior - Denton (Billy Ryan), Texas Brody Lawhon, Sophomore - Robstown (Banquete), Texas Vanessa Morales, Junior - San Antonio (Sandra Day O'Conner), Texas Donald Nguyen, Senior - Sugar Land (Stephen F. Austin), Texas Sarah Petry, Sophomore - Arlington (Kennedale), Texas Dana Quinterro, Junior - Houston (Eisenhower), Texas Marlene Rios, Senior - Edinburg (Edinburg), Texas Kaleena Risley, Senior - Kermit (Kermit), Texas Philip Scott, Junior - Plano (Plano), Texas John Southerland, Junior - Rogers (Buckholts), Texas Crystal Tomlinson, Senior - Spring (Klein Oak), Texas Hanson Yang, Senior - Houston (North Shore Senior), Texas
*Denotes 4.0 GPA
LAN HEWLETT AWARD
Baseball
Dooley Prince
Football
Trey Bates
Jason Glynn
Golf
Matt Rosenfeld
Swimming & Diving
David Kahn
Tennis
Roger Gubser
Track & Field
Mark Floreani
DESCRIPTION OF AWARDS
The PROVOST AWARD is presented to student-athletes, managers, or trainers who have achieved a 4.0 grade point average in either of the preceding two semesters.
The ATHLETICS DIRECTOR AWARD is presented to student-athletes, managers, or trainers who have achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average in either of the preceding two semesters.
The LAN HEWLETT AWARD is presented to the student-athletes who have the highest cumulative grade point average on their respective teams. The individual must be a letter winner and be of junior or senior year status.
Lan Hewlett was an Honorary Academic Counselor at The University of Texas from 1957-1977. Coach Darrell Royal hired him as the nation's first football academic counselor. He served as liaison between faculty and athletics department and was nicknamed the "Brain Coach." Hewlett helped initiate compulsory study hall for freshman athletes. This award was established in his honor by the National Association of Academic Counselors. Hewlett is also listed in the Hall of Honor.
The ACADEMIC SERVICES STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD is presented to one student-athlete, chosen by the Academic Services Staff, who best exemplifies excellence and balance both on the field of athletic competition and in the classroom.
The TEXAS EXES LEADERSHIP AWARD is presented annually to recognize an athlete in men's intercollegiate athletics at The University of Texas at Austin who embodies the attributes that are valued in alumni leadership. Such attributes include academic excellence, unselfish team play, desire to excel, service to the community, and respected leadership.
The award will be a Life Membership in the Texas Exes, funded by the President's Leadership Award Endowment created by Frank Denius in 1985.
Recipients are recommended by the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Men and approved by the Texas Exes President.
Dr. Bruce Walker
Vice Provost and Director of Admissions
The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Bruce Walker is Vice Provost and Director of Admissions at The University of Texas at Austin. He has worked to develop and implement policies for enrollment management along with scholarship and financial aid programs. Prior to joining the university in 1996, Dr. Walker was Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Aid, University of Delaware (1985-1991), with Admissions and Guidance Services of The College Board, Southwestern Regional Office (1977-1985), and with admission at North Texas State University (1973-1977). Dr. Walker is currently Chair, National Guidance and Admissions Council of The College Board, and Chair, University Enrollment Management Steering Committee, The University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Walker received his B.S. degree in Theology from Southwestern College (Waxahachie), M.Ed. degree from Texas Christian University, and Ed.D. degree in Higher Education Administration from The University of North Texas.
