HILO, Hawai`i—48 University of Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans were recognized on Thursday night at the first UH Hilo Student-Athlete Academic Honors Reception, held at the Student Services Building.

Any student-athlete boasting of a 3.3 accumulative grade point average or higher was honored at the reception. UH Hilo coaches, athletic staff, faculty members, college deans and Chancellor Donald Straney were in attendance. Student-athletes were encouraged to invite their favorite professor to help celebrate their achievements.

The inaugural event was the brainchild of Senior Woman Administrator and Compliance Officer Roxanne Levenson.

"I was very pleased with the turnout," said Levenson, who is in her first year at UH Hilo after working the majority of her career at Seattle University and Pepperdine University in similar capacities. "This will be an annual event. It is important to honor our scholar-athletes who are excelling in the classroom."

All 12 UH Hilo athletic teams had students honored. The women's soccer team had the highest number of players with a 3.3 GPA or higher with 11. The softball team was next with nine.

"Carrying a high GPA and playing an NCAA sport is very difficult to do," Chancellor Straney told the scholar-athletes. "It is great to see support of the faculty here tonight. Their presence should remind you that you are not alone in this journey, you have faculty, staff and coaches supporting you."

UH Hilo Athletic Director Patrick Guillen was extremely pleased with the event and proud of his student-athletes.

"Our staff is mindful that events like these help improve the student-athlete experience," he said. "Our campus is unique to the entire country, in that we are the only team in the nation that has no choice but to get on a plane for every single road game. Our students are sometimes gone for up to two weeks at a time. It takes great discipline and organization to excel in the classroom like they do."

The following student-athletes were honored for having a 3.3 or higher GPA.
Baseball--Micah Carter, Austin Inouye, Phillip Steering, Dylan Sugimoto. Men's Basketball—Brian Ishola.  Men's Golf—Taylor Patrick. Men's Soccer—Daniel Baumgartner, Andrew Dawrs, Trenton Hooper, Kyran Johal. Men's Tennis—Ryuta Ogawa, Vaclav Slezak, Gregory Zukeran. Women's Basketball—Sharlei Graham-Bernisto, Lauren Hong, Sydney Mercer, Kimberly Schmelz. Softball—Briauna Carter, Toshonnie Baker, Billi Derleth, Cyanne Fernandez, Kristen Ishii, Brinell Kaleikini, Jordan Millwood, Danielle Pulido, Maria Steadmon. Women's Golf—Andi Igawa, Keely Kitamura. Women's Soccer—Keani Shirai, Alexa Smiley, Abcde Zoller, Kailah Buchanan, Terra Carden, Bryana-Marie Ebbers, Madison Gates, Annabel Gonzalez, Meghan Langbehn, Nicole Ramirez, Sophia Satterlee. Women's Tennis—Anne Carsey. Volleyball—Trixie Croad, Siera Green, Taylor Madrid, Haylee Roberts, Marley Strand-Nicolaisen, Kyndra Trevino-Scott. Cross Country—Cheyana Crossman, Anna Baker Mikkelsen.