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M Club Inducts Biggest Class in School History Into Membership
April 30, 2009 MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis M Club honored the senior class of 2009 Thursday afternoon with the Annual Senior Induction Luncheon. The M Club welcomed 52 undergraduate students and one graduate student, who will all graduate on Saturday, May 9th. The 53 total graduates is the most-ever for the Tiger athletic program. The luncheon also was an opportunity to recognize three special award winners in addition to each sports' graduates. Men's tennis player Benedikt (Benny) Fischer was named the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. A perfect 4.0 student, Fischer carried a 4.0 GPA while working toward a second degree from the U of M, this one in business finance. The Dusseldorf, Germany, native already has one undergraduate degree in international business. Last season, the Memphis netter became the men's tennis team's first-ever Co-SIDA Academic All-American. During his time at Memphis, Fischer has also twice been named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and is a three-time C-USA Academic Medalist and Academic Honor Roll member. On the court, Fischer teamed with Jordan Smith in 2009 to produce the squad's most doubles wins with a 17-7 record. He finishes his career with 32 doubles wins and was 10-13 in singles for the Tigers while playing spots from No. 2 to No. 5 in the singles line-up. Another perfect 4.0 student was Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Kate Murphy. The women's soccer player was a four-year letter winner and two-time team captain. During her team captaincy, the Lady Tigers tied for the C-USA regular season title and went on to win the C-USA Tournament in back-to-back years. In 2008, she played in every match for the Lady Tigers and in 2007 she appeared in the starting lineup in each match. In 2006, she was voted to the C-USA second team. She earned the Helen Hardin University Honors Program Director's Award in 2009 and was voted C-USA All-Academic first team in 2007 and 2008. She was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV in 2008 and was the first female CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in school history. She earned C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal and Honor Roll from 2006-2008 and was a member of the U of M Dean's List from 2005-2009 with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. The senior studied abroad in 2006 in Spain and in 2008 in China through the U of M study abroad program and was a member of the Helen Hardin University Honors Program from 2005-2009. Murphy was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Lambda Honors Fraternity from 2007-2009 and ran in the St. Jude Marathon half-marathon in Memphis in 2007 an 2008 to help raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The final award of the afternoon was the presentation of the Elma Roane Award, the top award for female student-athletes. Women's soccer senior Maggie Leone was named the 2009 Elma Roane Award Winner, the third women's soccer honoree in the history of the award and the second straight Lady Tiger from Brooks' Monaghan's C-USA Championship program to receive the honor. Leone was a four-year letterwinner as a member of the Lady Tiger soccer team. She was a major part in leading her squad to back-to-back C-USA regular season titles and C-USA Tournament titles and earned the team's Spirit Award each year since her sophomore year in 2006 through her senior season in 2008. She came to Memphis on an Emerging Leaders Scholarship and has volunteered for a number of organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Commencement ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 9th. Graduates from the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Communications and Fine Arts and University College will graduate in the 10 a.m. ceremonies at FedExForum. Graduates in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics, College of Education, Herff College of Engineering, Loewenberg School of Nursing, School of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology will graduate in the 2:00 p.m. ceremonies at FEF. Parking is $5.00 for the ceremonies and the doors will open one hour prior to the commencement ceremony.
All-Time Elma Roane Award Winners
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Memphis Tigers
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