Jan. 17, 2008

MEMPHIS, TENN. - At halftime of the men's basketball game versus Southern Miss on Saturday, more than 150 Tiger student-athletes will be honored for their academic accomplishments during the fall semester.

For the first time ever, 50 percent (166 total) of Memphis' 331 student-athletes achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and earned recognition into the Tiger 3.0 Club. That number does not include members of the cheer/pom squad, which placed an additional 19 members on the Tiger 3.0 Club.

In addition to the Tiger 3.0 Club, honorees to the Tiger Academic 30 will be introduced. The Tiger Academic 30 is made up of the top student-athletes from each team and the next best student-athletes to form an elite group of 30. Volleyball was represented by six athletes, while baseball and women's soccer placed four athletes each into the prestigious group. Of the 32 student-athletes who make up the Tiger Academic 30, 14 earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

"Our staff was very excited with the academic achievements of our student-athletes in the fall semester," said Dr. Joe Luckey, the director of the Center for Athletic Academic Services. "The baseball program set its highest team GPA ever and joined nine other teams with fall team GPA's above 3.0. Fifty percent of our student-athletes achieving a 3.0 semester GPA represents a total team effort amongst the students, the coaches and our staff.

"Our university and the Memphis community should feel very proud of the student-athletes we have here," added Luckey.

Two Tiger teams will also be recognized for holding the highest team grade point average in the fall. The men's tennis team, which posted a 3.5 GPA, is led by head coach Paul Goebel and the women's cross country team, which turned in a 3.7 GPA, is led by head coach Kevin Robinson.

Below is a full listing of the student-athletes who make up the Tiger Academic 30.

Christine Bach, volleyball
Brad Benjamin, men's golf
Whitney Bolton, women's cross country/track
Kristin Chamberlain, women's tennis
Sarah Chambers, volleyball
Alysse Davis, women's basketball
Chen Edri, women's track
Benedikt Fischer, men's tennis
Curtis Gibbs, men's cross country/track
Brittany Gooch, softball
Gresh Gorman, volleyball
Andrew Hahn, rifle
Kimmi Hayden, softball
Brandon Hunt, football
Mark Jobe, baseball
Willie Kemp, men's basketball
Tarah Kerr, women's soccer
Kelsey Labrum, volleyball
Emily Malinowski, women's track/cross country
Jason Miller, baseball
Adam Montgomery, men's soccer
Kate Murphy, women's soccer
Alexa Porter, women's golf
Matt Reagan, football
Tyler Roberts, baseball
Katie Sabet, women's soccer
Becky Shaffer, volleyball
Brennan Somers, men's soccer
Vendula Strnadova, women's soccer
Emily Underwood, volleyball
Janelle Valle, softball
Chad Zurcher, baseball