5 Sun Devils earn Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year


No less than five Sun Devils earned the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2009-2010, a mark that was second in the league. The Pac-10 award is sponsored by Toyo TiresĀ® and has been established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline. What makes the ASU mark even more impressive is that ASU sponsors 18 of the 22 sports eligible for the award. So five of 18 sports possible were topped by Sun Devils.

ASU's five honorees was second to Stanford's seven, while Washington had three each, followed by Arizona and Oregon (two each) and UCLA, USC and Washington State with one.

Sun Devils earning the Pac-10 award were golfers Knut Borsheim and Juliana Murcia, Ryan Whiting (men's track and field), Brandon Bethke (men's cross country) and Mike Nixon (football).

"Toyo is proud to support the Pac-10 and to acknowledge outstanding student-athletes for their efforts," said Steve Hutchinson, vice president of marketing, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. "By supporting today's achievers, we feel we are helping to grow tomorrow's leaders."

In order to be eligible for the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-10 institution nominates one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-10 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are considered in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year is named in each of the Pac-10's 22 sponsored sports: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, football, men's golf, women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's rowing, women's rowing, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's track & field, women's track & field, women's volleyball, and wrestling.

2009-10 PAC-10 SCHOLAR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Baseball: Matt Fanelli, Washington State
Softball: K'Lee Arredondo, Arizona
Men's Golf: Knut Borsheim, Arizona State
Women's Golf: Juliana Murcia, Arizona State
Men's Tennis: Robert Farah, USC
Women's Tennis: Lindsay Burdette, Stanford
Men's Rowing: Simon Taylor, Washington
Women's Rowing: Christina Sprouse, UCLA
Men's Track/Field: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State
Women's Track/Field: Keisha Baker, Oregon
Men's Basketball: Landry Fields, Stanford
Women's Basketball: Jayne Appel, Stanford
Men's Cross Country: Brandon Bethke, Arizona State
Women's Cross Country: Nicole Bloodk, Oregon
Football: Mike Nixon, Arizona State
Women's Gymnastics: Carly Janiga, Stanford
Men's Soccer: Rylan Hawkins, Washington
Women's Soccer: Ali Riley, Stanford
Men's Swim/Dive: David Dunford, Stanford
Women's Swim/Dive: Justine Schluntz, Arizona
Wrestling: Jack Johnson, Stanford
Volleyball: Jill Collymore, Washington

Scholar-Athletes of the Year in each sport will receive a commemorative award. Toyo Tires will donate $1,000 to the scholarship funds of the institution's athletic department of each winner in recognition of their accomplishments.

"We are proud to honor these outstanding student-athletes in partnership with Toyo Tires," said Larry Scott, commissioner of the Pac-10. "These student-athletes have shown a dedication to their sport and to their academics, and this award honors those achievements. We continue to be appreciative of the relationship with Toyo Tires and helping to recognize these deserving student-athletes and their accomplishments."