EAST LANSING, Mich. -

April 9, 2007

EAST LANSING, Mich. - More than 200 student-athletes were honored on Monday evening at the Student-Athlete Support Services' 10th annual Academic Excellence Gala, held at the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State campus. In addition, 23 student-athletes received team honors for sporting the top grade point average on their team, while six were given SASS's top awards for the 2006-07 school year. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the dinner, former MSU and NBA basketball star Steve Smith delivered the keynote address.

Senior Marquita Allen (Portsmouth, Va./Western Branch) - a sprinter for the women's track & field squad - was the recipient of the Multicultural Award, while redshirt-junior football center John Masters (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) was named the winner of the Gwendolyn Norrell Community Service and Leadership Award.

Both men's and women's cross country teams were honored during the evening, for posting the highest team cumulative grade point average among Michigan State's 25 varsity teams. The women's squad boasts a 3.5208, with the men right behind with a 3.3796. The Presidents Award - which is given to the top graduating male and female - was given to women's golfer Kristen Polanski (Livonia, Mich./Livonia Stevebson), who has posted a 3.97015 grade point average as a finance major. The male recipient was men's cross country and track athlete Matt Bartlebaugh (Napoleon, Mich./Napoleon), who's 3.9484 has been compiled as a history major. Women's gymnastics' Kelly Moffitt (Flora, Ind./Carroll) and baseball's Kyle Corcoran (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) were given the Office of the Provost Award, presented to the top male and female grade point averages in the freshman class.

Below are the individual award winners from each Spartan varsity squad, honored for having the highest GPA on their respective teams:
Baseball - Nolan Moody
Men's Basketball - Drew Naymick
Women's Basketball - Victoria Lucas-Perry
Men's Cross Country - Matt Bartlebaugh
Women's Cross Country - Michelle Rafferty
Field Hockey - Megan Nimke
Football - Cole Malatinsky
Men's Golf - Grant Tungate
Women's Golf - Kristen Polanski
Women's Gymnastics - Victoria Iakounina
Hockey - Jeffrey Dunne
Rowing - Kate Burdick
Men's Soccer - Douglas DeMartin
Women's Soccer - Katie Boyd
Softball - Rachel Turney
Men's Swimming & Diving - Matthew McNichols
Women's Swimming & Diving - Carly Zenk
Men's Tennis - Adam Monich
Women's Tennis - Pascale Schnitzer
Men's Track & Field - Kyle Sweeney
Women's Track & Field - Melinda Buckmaster
Volleyball - Miken Trogdon
Wrestling - Clint Frutiger