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Athletic News
07/13/2010 -
14 Trojan Student-Athletes Named To Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Teams
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| Bland | Daniels | Guerci | Hecke |
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| Kurebayashi | Vazquez | Williams | |
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| Medeiros | Miranda | Nalley | Queiros |
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| Sender | Souza | Viana |
Fourteen Mount Olive College student-athletes have been selected to 2010 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Teams. The award recognizes undergraduate student-athletes of color with a minimum 3.2 cumulative grade point average and who are active on campus or in their community. The Sports Scholars teams are comprised of student-athletes from all college and university classifications: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, other four-year college associations and two-year colleges.
Seven Trojan student-athletes were named to the first team for their respective sports: Samone Bland (junior varsity women’s basketball), Adrian Daniels (men’s soccer), Camilo Guerci (men’s volleyball), Rebeccah Hecke (women’s soccer), Camila Kurebayashi (women’s tennis), Alex Vazquez (men’s volleyball) and Ryan Williams (baseball).
Earning second team honors were Diogo Miranda (men's tennis), Alexandre Queiros (men's tennis), Diogo Sender (men's tennis), Jessica Souza (women's tennis) and Pietra Viana (women's tennis). Sofia Medeiros (women's tennis) and Katie Nalley (softball) were selected to the third team.
Bland is from Shallotte, N.C., and graduated in May with a degree in English communications. She compiled a 3.86 cumulative grade point average. Bland competed on both the Mount Olive College varsity and junior varsity teams during her collegiate career.
Daniels is from Greenville, N.C., and graduated in May with a 3.47 cumulative gpa majoring in visual communications. Daniels was also named to the 2008 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Men’s Soccer Team. Daniels was a two-time Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference selection. A team captain and an officer on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Daniels was the last Trojan men’s soccer player to record a hat trick (three goals in one match).
Guerci is from Miami, Fla., and graduated in May with a 3.51 gpa majoring in sports management. Guerci helped lead Mount Olive to the inaugural Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament championships in 2010. His .484 hitting percentage was the second highest in the nation during his senior year. Guerci, who served as a student assistant coach for the Trojan women’s volleyball team in 2008, was also a two-time Conference Carolinas All-Academic selection.
Hecke, a senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has a 3.96 gpa majoring in exercise science. Hecke, who completed her athletics eligibility last year, was recently awarded an NCAA Division II Degree Completion Award to assist in completing her degree in 2010-11. She was a finalist for the 2009-10 Conference Carolinas Murphy Osborne Award. On the field, Hecke tied for the team lead in assists last fall. She also competed on the Trojan women’s track and field team during her senior year.
Kurebayashi, a senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has a 3.86 cumulative gpa majoring in business administration/business management. Kurebayashi has been named to the All-Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis Team in each of the last two years. In 2009, she helped lead Mount Olive to its first-ever Conference Carolinas women’s tennis regular season title and the Trojans’ second appearance in the NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis Championship. A 2010 Conference Carolinas All-Academic selection, Kurebayashi was among a group of Mount Olive College honors students who visited Greece and Turkey in May.
Vazquez, a junior from Miami, Fla., has a 3.42 cumulative gpa majoring in criminal justice. Vazquez was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2010 Mount Olive College Men’s Volleyball Classic. He averaged 3.4 kills per set in the tournament. Vazquez was a key reserve for the Trojans’ 2010 Conference Carolinas championship team.
Williams, a senior from East Preston, Nova Scotia, has a 3.33 grade point average majoring in recreation and leisure studies. Williams compiled a 4-3 record with three saves and a 2.78 earned run average in two seasons as a relief pitcher. He made 28 appearances for the Trojans, all but one in relief. Williams did not allow a run in two relief appearances during the 2010 Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament as Mount Olive captured its fourth title in the last five years.
The Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Awards are administered by the magazine Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Arthur Ashe won the 1965 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Singles title and helped lead UCLA to the team national championship. As a professional, Ashe won the 1968 U.S. Open, the 1970 Australian Open and the 1975 Wimbledon Championship. He remains the only African-American male to win any Grand Slam singles titles, let alone win titles at three different Grand Slam tournaments. Ashe contracted the HIV virus from a blood transfusion during heart surgery and died in 1993.
(Editor's Note: Information for this article was originally taken from the publication Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, which listed only the first team Sports Scholars for each sport. The diverseeducation.com website lists all Sports Scholars, including second and third team selections.)