June 8, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Men's tennis athlete Benedikt Fischer and men's golfer Brad Benjamin were named C-USA Scholar Athlete's of the Year for their respective sports as was announced by C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky on Monday morning. Benjamin, a recent graduate from Rockford, Ill., earns the honor for the second consecutive season. Fischer picks up the award for the first time after finishing his Memphis career with a 4.0 GPA.

The awards are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport, and are based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service. Nine of C-USA's 12 institutions produced at least one student-athlete selected. Benjamin and SMU's Kate Ackerson were repeat winners.

Benjamin finished his Memphis career with a cumulative GPA of 3.9. He earned placement on the ESPN The Magazine All-America District IV Second Team as was announced in May. Benjamin was also honored as a member of the C-USA All-Academic team for the second consecutive season in 2009. On the golf course, Benjamin competed in all 11 events for Grant Robbins' squad, holding a 74.4 scoring average.

Fischer, a native of Dusseldorf, Germany, earned a degree from Memphis in international business in May of 2008. He is currently finishing up a second degree in business finance. Fischer was named to the ESPN The Magazine All-America District IV First Team in May and is currently eligible for the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team. He has also earned placement on the C-USA All-Academic team on three occasions and has twice been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete. At the conclusion of the 2009 calendar year, Fischer was named Memphis' 2008-09 Student Athlete of the Year for his efforts in the classroom.