BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – With the Ohio Valley Conference's announcement Tuesday of its 2023-24 Team Academic Achievement Awards, Tennessee Tech came away with one of the team honors as the Golden Eagle beach volleyball team was recognized for the highest percentage of its eligible student-athletes achieving a 3.25 grade point average or better.
Beach volleyball had 10 players make the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll with Brooke Amann, Skylar Boom, Katie DiRaimondo, Madolyn Isringhausen, Emma Pabon, Bella Powell, Olivia Taylor, Elena Wallace, Jazmine Yamilkoski and McKenna Young all earning spots on the academic excellence list. DiRaimondo, Isringhausen, Taylor and Young also received the OVC Academic Medal of Honor with perfect 4.0 GPAs.
"All awards are great," said head coach Zach Weinberg, "but it's extra special when we can win an academic award because we are always student-athletes, in that order. We set high standards for the team academically and they constantly strive to exceed those standards. To say that the staff is proud would be an understatement."
The league's overall Institutional Achievement award, presented annually to the member institution with the greatest percentage of its eligible student-athletes that earn a 3.25 grade point average or higher for that academic year, was won by Southern Indiana who earned the award for the second-straight season.
In total, 11 different member institutions garnered at least one team award with UT Martin claiming four, followed closely by Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois with three apiece and Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana also earning multiple awards with two each.
The team/institution honorees are:
Baseball: Lindenwood
Men's Basketball: Southern Indiana & UT Martin
Women's Basketball: Western Illinois
Beach Volleyball: Tennessee Tech
Men's Cross Country: Southeast Missouri
Women's Cross Country: Southeast Missouri
Football: UT Martin
Men's Golf: UT Martin
Women's Golf: Little Rock & Western Illinois
Rifle: Morehead State
Men's Soccer: Liberty
Women's Soccer: Eastern Illinois
Softball: Southern Indiana
Men's Tennis: Tennessee State
Women's Tennis: Western Illinois
Men's Track and Field: Southeast Missouri
Women's Track and Field: Eastern Illinois
Women's Volleyball: UT Martin
The awards cap the announcements regarding 2023-24 academic year awards. It was previously announced that 1,634 OVC student-athletes were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll (for having a 3.25 GPA or better) while 314 student-athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPA's to earn the OVC Academic Medal of Honor.
Photo | Jim Dillon
