Quartet Earn Postgraduate Scholarships

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -A quartet of University of Colorado student-athletes were named recipients of the Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2011-12 academic year, announced Thursday by Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott.

Katie Dreher (Track & Field), Caroline Danneberg (Soccer), Trey Eckloff (Basketball), and Tony Poremba (Football) were four of 48 outstanding Pac-12 student-athletes named.

Caroline Danneberg

Katie Dreher

Trey Eckloff

Tony Poremba

These $3,000 awards go to student-athletes with a minimum 3.0 grade point average who have demonstrated a commitment to continuing education, campus and community involvement, and leadership. Since the program began in 1999, the Pac-12 has awarded over $1.5 million for postgraduate study.

Dreher (Salida, Colo.) graduated in May 2012 with a degree in International Spanish for the Professions. This past April, she was a co-recipient of The Clancy A. Herbst, Jr., Student-Athlete Achievement Award (given to athletes who overcome personal, academic or emotional difficulties to succeed both academically and athletically), in addition to the Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award. She is also a 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) All-Academic selection, 2012 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention, and a two-time Big 12 All-Academic Second Team selection. Her post-graduate plans are pursuing a graduate degree in Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences.

Danneberg (Englewood, Colo.) will graduate this December 2012 with a degree in media studies. She was named one of the three winners of the Most Improved Student-Athlete Awards at last April's 20th Annual Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet. She was also named to the 2010 Big 12 All-Academic first team.

Eckloff (Englewood, Colo.) graduated in May 2012 with a degree in finance. This past April, he was named CU's Outstanding Academic Achievement Award (recognizing a senior who has demonstrated a consistently high level of academic performance during their collegiate career). He was a two-time Big 12 All-Academic first team selection. His post-grad plans are to attend CU Law School (Fall 2012).

Poremba (Greenwood Village, Colo.) graduated in May 2012 with a double degree in economics and business (finance). He earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors as a junior and was an honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic team member as a senior. Poremba plans to pursue a MBA.

To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must:

Have an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale) or its equivalent.
Be in his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports OR be in his/her final year of undergraduate studies, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports. The student-athlete will be evaluated on the basis of all academic work completed at time of selection.
Have performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team. The degree of the student-athlete's athletic achievement will be weighed at least equally with the degree of academic performance.
Intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission.
Have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics.

In 1999, the Pac-12 Conference created a postgraduate scholarship program to honor outstanding student-athletes from its member institutions who also are outstanding scholars. Each Pac-12 institution selects four student-athlete recipients, two men and two women, through its institutional selection process.

2011-12 Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship Winners
Arizona
Trace Biskin: Football
Rebecca Cardenas: Gymnastics
Andy Guerra: Diving
Ainsley Oliver: Diving

Arizona State
Hillary Bach: Softball
Cameron Kastl: Football
John Kline: Track & Field
Cj Navarro: Track & Field

California
Maxime Chevee: Cross Country/Track & Field
Shelley Harper: Swimming
Jana Juricova: Tennis
Giorgio Tavecchio: Football

Colorado
Katie Dreher: Track & Field
Caroline Danneberg: Soccer
Trey Eckloff: Basketball
Tony Poremba: Football

Oregon
Bronwyn Crossman: Track & field
Amanda Johnson: Basketball
David Paulson: Football
Brian Schaudt: Track & Field

Oregon State
Meghan Leineweber: Rowing
Leslie Mak: Gymnastics
Brian Ramsey: Soccer
Leslie Urban: Rowing

Stanford
Clayton Holz: Soccer
Amaechi Morton: Track & Field
Nneka Ogwumike: Basketball
Betsy Webb: Swimming

UCLA
Charney Burk: Soccer
Brooke Finley: Softball
Nick Meister: Tennis
Mark Weber: Track & Field

USC
Brianna Gilbreath: Basketball
Daniel Nguyen: Tennis
Amanda Smith: Swimming
Greg Woodburn: Track

Utah
Alyssa Abbot: Track & Field
Eric Bonicelli: Swimming
Hannah Caron: Swimming
Torjus Krogdahl: Skiing

Washington
Sarah Martinez: Soccer
Sam Osjerkis: Crew
Veronica Tamsitt: Crew
Gregory Walker: Football

Washington State
Jake Baertlein: Track & Field
Jared Karstetter: Football
Tiara Pittman: Soccer
Rosemarie Tarnowski: Basketball

Colorado University Athletics