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Dateline: 7/15/2009

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY NEWS RELEASE
Dale Goodwin, Director
Peter Tormey, Associate Director

Zag Student-Athletes Score in School

Jami Schaeer was among the best players on the court and was Academic All American in the classroom.
Jami Schaefer, among the most talented Zags on the court, also earned Academic All-America honors and graduated with a 3.95 grade-point average. She is a three-time ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 first team. Also, she was named to the I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team both her junior and senior seasons. (Photo: Jennifer Raudebaugh)
The competition for playing time in NCAA Division I athletics is so fierce that student-athletes must work out year-round to improve their game – not only during their season. So it’s particularly praiseworthy when a student-athlete becomes a scholar-athlete.

A total of 156 Gonzaga scholar-athletes were named to the West Coast Conference Commissioners Honor Roll for 2009. This, in spite of all the time these dedicated young men and women spend not only practicing, but watching film of opponents, attending meetings, lifting weights, stretching, taking part in off-season conditioning, and more.

The conference sets the bar high, too, as student-athletes must earn a 3.0 grade-point average, earn a varsity letter in a conference sport during the past year, and complete an average of 12 credits per semester. The honorees were recognized in three categories:

  • Gold for a GPA of 3.75-4.0;
  • Silver for a GPA of 3.50-3.74; and
  • Bronze for a GPA of 3.0-3.49

Twenty-three Zags received Gold status, 34 earned Silver, and 99 received Bronze. Women’s rower Martha Buttry and women’s basketball player Jami (Bjorklund) Schaefer recorded the Bulldogs’ top GPAs, each graduating with a 3.95.

A total of 854 scholar-athletes competing in one of the league’s 13 sponsored sports were honored by the WCC, topping the previous record of 849 scholar-athletes in 2006-2007.

In April, Gonzaga led all WCC schools with four sports honored for NCAA Public Recognition Awards based on their multiyear academic progress rates. Zags' teams honored were men's soccer, tennis and track and women's golf. Also, all four senior men’s basketball players graduated this year and Josh Heytvelt, a redshirt senior completing a master's degree, was named to the WCC 2009 Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team..

 
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