March 10, 2011

Garden Grove, Calif. - Senior hurdler Lauren Williams and sophomore outfielder Carlos Lopez of Cal State Fullerton were among 18 individuals honored as Big West Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year today at a banquet in Garden Grove.

The top female and male scholar-athlete is chosen annually for each of the nine Big West institutions based on a combination of athletic prowess and academic achievements.

Williams is the three-time defending champion in the hurdles and a regular member of the Dean's List. Lopez is the cleanup hitter for the baseball team who won freshman All-American honors last season. He was not present to receive his award because the Titan baseball team was enroute to Baton Rouge for a weekend series at LSU.

The other honorees were:
Cal Poly - Rachel Clancy, basketball, and Wes Feighner, soccer
Cal State Northridge - Jillian Stapf, water polo, and Nick Delio, golf
Long Beach State - Lauren Sieprath, water polo, and Matt Maldonado, cross country and track
UC Davis - Ashley Chandler, swimming and water polo, and Calvin Thigpen, cross country and track
UC Irvine - Cortney Collyer, water polo, and Corey Attaway, soccer
UC Riverside - Katy Daly, cross country and track, and Peter Guenther, track
UC Santa Barbara - Stacey Schmidt, volleyball, and Jordan Weiner, basketball
Pacific - Jenifer Widjaja, tennis, and Artem Gramma, tennis