Garrido and Bellissimo Named Scholar-Athletes of the Year

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Athletics honored its Scholar Athletes of 2011-2012 at the annual awards banquet on Tuesday night, April 3rd in the University's Nessmith-Lane Ballroom.. Men's Tennis' Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and Volleyball's Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) were selected by the University Athletics Committee as the 2012 Georgia Southern Scholar-Athletes of the Year for their outstanding work in the classroom and on the playing field.

Garrido earns the first Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for the Men's Tennis team since 2006 when Vincent Patry picked up the honor. This year he has moved up to the No. 1 position on the tennis team and has 10 wins in doubles play. Against Davidson, he was part of the doubles team that defeated the Wildcats' No. 57 ranked team. Garrido will graduate this spring with a degree in accounting, posting a 3.72 GPA through the fall semester. He has been active on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board over the last two seasons as the Men's Tennis representative. Garrido has also served as the Eagles' team captain this year.

Bellissimo is in the final weeks of her junior season at Georgia Southern with a perfect 4.0 GPA in nutrition with a minor in marketing. She is the fifth student-athlete from the Volleyball team to earn Student-Athlete of the Year and the first since Erin Martin in 2004. From her outside hitter position, Bellissimo played in every match, scoring 25 aces and SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors on November 14th, 2011. Off the court, Bellissimo is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, attending their leadership camp for the last two years. She has also worked with Awana, a program for disadvantaged youth in Bulloch County.

At the banquet, Georgia Southern Athletics also honored 11 Scholar-Athletes as nominated by the head coach of each sport. The 2011-12 Georgia Southern Athletics Eagle Honor Roll was introduced with its 105 members, led by 13 student-athletes from the football team. Members of the honor roll had a 3.0 GPA in the Spring and Fall semesters of 2011. The recipients of Scholar-Athlete Endowment Scholarships were also recognized.

Director of Student-Athlete Services Keith Roughton served as master of ceremonies for the event which included remarks from Georgia Southern President Brooks A. Keel and Director of Athletics Sam Baker.

Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Alain Garrido, Men's Tennis

Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Moriah Bellissimo, Volleyball

Scholar-Athlete of the Year Nominees:
Cameron Baskerville, Men's Basketball
Courtney Collins, Women's Soccer
Sara Curry, Track/Cross Country
Alessandra Dzuba, Women's Tennis
Will Evans, Golf
Derek Heyden, Football
Hunter Norton, Men's Soccer
Eric Phillips, Baseball
Rachael Stockwell, Swimming & Diving
Mackenzie Williams, Softball
Samantha Williams, Women's Basketball

Category: Athletics

Published on Tuesday, 03 April 2012 20:38