June 20, 2013
Spring 2013 Academic All-Mountain West Team
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV had a total of 77 student-athletes earn Spring 2013 Academic All-Mountain West Team recognition, the league office announced on Thursday. The men's basketball program tied for the league lead with four honorees, while women's swimming & diving (20), women's track & field (13) and baseball (11) had double-digit representatives.
The track & field program was led by four-time recipients Emily Blok and Kelsey Williamson. The duo became only the sixth and seventh individuals to earn academic all-conference honors all four years of their careers dating back to 2000.
Besides Blok and Williamson, there were five more - Laura Affeld, Adrianna Oliva, Lauren Petersen, Ashley Franklin and Corey Honeycutt - to earn a second or third nod to the academic team. Affeld, Oliva and Petersen have made three squads, while Franklin and Honeycutt are two-time honorees.
Amanda Berg, Myra Dean, Jordan Hardy, Cortney Miller, Jordan Smith and Juliet Summers round out the 13-member contingent with their first appearances on the academic squad.
In fact, if you include the five student-athletes that made the 2013 MPSF Men's Swimming & Diving All-Academic Team, UNLV had a total of 82 individuals that were acknowledged for their efforts in the classroom this spring. The 2013 total marked the ninth straight year that at least 81 Rebels were recognized.
UNLV softball had nine members of its team make the academic team, while women's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis and women's tennis rounded out the spring sports with each program contributing four individuals.
For the 2012-13 academic year, UNLV had 129 student-athletes - 121 Mountain West and eight MPSF - earn either Fall or Spring honors. That number extends the athletic department's run to eight consecutive years with at least 124.
Overall, 729 student-athletes from the MW were named to the academic team. Spring sports include baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, softball, women's swimming & diving, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track & field.
To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic team at the member institution, while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their athletics team.
