Geiger and Ware Receive Coleman Lew Leadership Award
5/23/2009 4:21:00 PM | General
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Southern Conference, in conjunction with Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc. ? a national executive search firm ? announced the selection of 24 student-athletes as recipients of the fourth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award. Georgia Southern had two representatives named to the list in junior Jessica Geiger of the women's basketball team and sophomore Jake Ware of the baseball team.
Coaches, faculty athletic representatives and senior woman administrators nominated candidates based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community for the award that recognizes student-athletes from each of the SoCon's 12 member institutions. The nominees were then narrowed down before athletic directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates held one-on-one interviews with the finalists before determining the award winners.
Geiger, a junior from Stone Mountain, Ga., was named to the list representing Georgia Southern. The Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for Georgia Southern, Geiger started all 30 games of the 2008-09 season for the Lady Eagles. She averaged 28.6 minutes a game for 6.7 points on average. The Lady Eagle was third on the team in field goal percentage (38.2%) and second on the team averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
The junior forward scored a season and career-high 17 points in the 53-45 win over UNC Greensboro and secured a season-high 12 rebounds at High Point. Geiger sports a 3.95 cumulative GPA in Marketing.
“Jess is the epitome of a student-athlete, she really is,” said Georgia Southern head coach Rusty Cram. “She excels in the classroom and is in it for the long run to get her degree. It is obvious with the academic accolades she's been receiving lately that she excels both on and off the court.”
Ware, a sophomore from Statesboro, has appeared in 15 games for the Eagles this season, starting three. A .235 batting average is highlighted by a homerun that came in the 24-9 win over Bethune-Cookman. Ware holds a 3.88 GPA in International Studies.
The 24 recipients of the award will be recognized at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner on Wednesday, May 27 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.
The 2009 Coleman Lew & Associates Leadership Award recipients are:
Name (Institution) Sport Academic Major
Matt Andress (Appalachian State) Baseball Construction Management
Cassandra Engelgau (Appalachian State) Volleyball Organizational Communications
John Bello (College of Charleston) Soccer Exercise Science
Emily Sawin (College of Charleston) Volleyball Biochemistry
Richard Jones (The Citadel) Baseball Business Administration
Lauren Fleming (The Citadel) Track & Field Health & Wellness
Clinton Smith (Davidson) Soccer English
Teresa Wang (Davidson) Tennis Biology
Mike Melillo (Elon) Baseball Business Administration
Lauren Griffith (Elon) Soccer Accounting & Spanish
Jonathan Collier (Furman) Soccer Business Administration
Lana Mackey (Furman) Softball Health Exercise Science
Jake Ware (Georgia Southern) Baseball International Studies
Jessica Geiger (Georgia Southern) Basketball Marketing
Arsel Kumdereli (UNC Greensboro) Tennis Business Studies
Laura Olenderski (UNC Greensboro) Softball Marketing
Wayne Miller (Samford) Baseball International Relations
Natalie Fleming (Samford) Soccer Family Studies
Joseph Thornton (Chattanooga) Football Criminal Justice
Brooke Loudermilk (Chattanooga) Softball Art Education
Timothy Jake Robinson (Western Carolina) Basketball Finance
Katie Hennessey (Western Carolina) Volleyball Communication
Nicklaus Schuermann (Wofford) Soccer Biology
Joanna Suddath (Wofford) Volleyball Chemistry
Coaches, faculty athletic representatives and senior woman administrators nominated candidates based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community for the award that recognizes student-athletes from each of the SoCon's 12 member institutions. The nominees were then narrowed down before athletic directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates held one-on-one interviews with the finalists before determining the award winners.
Geiger, a junior from Stone Mountain, Ga., was named to the list representing Georgia Southern. The Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for Georgia Southern, Geiger started all 30 games of the 2008-09 season for the Lady Eagles. She averaged 28.6 minutes a game for 6.7 points on average. The Lady Eagle was third on the team in field goal percentage (38.2%) and second on the team averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
The junior forward scored a season and career-high 17 points in the 53-45 win over UNC Greensboro and secured a season-high 12 rebounds at High Point. Geiger sports a 3.95 cumulative GPA in Marketing.
“Jess is the epitome of a student-athlete, she really is,” said Georgia Southern head coach Rusty Cram. “She excels in the classroom and is in it for the long run to get her degree. It is obvious with the academic accolades she's been receiving lately that she excels both on and off the court.”
Ware, a sophomore from Statesboro, has appeared in 15 games for the Eagles this season, starting three. A .235 batting average is highlighted by a homerun that came in the 24-9 win over Bethune-Cookman. Ware holds a 3.88 GPA in International Studies.
The 24 recipients of the award will be recognized at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner on Wednesday, May 27 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.
The 2009 Coleman Lew & Associates Leadership Award recipients are:
Name (Institution) Sport Academic Major
Matt Andress (Appalachian State) Baseball Construction Management
Cassandra Engelgau (Appalachian State) Volleyball Organizational Communications
John Bello (College of Charleston) Soccer Exercise Science
Emily Sawin (College of Charleston) Volleyball Biochemistry
Richard Jones (The Citadel) Baseball Business Administration
Lauren Fleming (The Citadel) Track & Field Health & Wellness
Clinton Smith (Davidson) Soccer English
Teresa Wang (Davidson) Tennis Biology
Mike Melillo (Elon) Baseball Business Administration
Lauren Griffith (Elon) Soccer Accounting & Spanish
Jonathan Collier (Furman) Soccer Business Administration
Lana Mackey (Furman) Softball Health Exercise Science
Jake Ware (Georgia Southern) Baseball International Studies
Jessica Geiger (Georgia Southern) Basketball Marketing
Arsel Kumdereli (UNC Greensboro) Tennis Business Studies
Laura Olenderski (UNC Greensboro) Softball Marketing
Wayne Miller (Samford) Baseball International Relations
Natalie Fleming (Samford) Soccer Family Studies
Joseph Thornton (Chattanooga) Football Criminal Justice
Brooke Loudermilk (Chattanooga) Softball Art Education
Timothy Jake Robinson (Western Carolina) Basketball Finance
Katie Hennessey (Western Carolina) Volleyball Communication
Nicklaus Schuermann (Wofford) Soccer Biology
Joanna Suddath (Wofford) Volleyball Chemistry
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