University of Connecticut Athletics
Two UConn Booters Earn BIG EAST Academic Awards
2/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
PROVIDENCE, RI (February 12) – Seniors Mansour Ndiaye (New York, NY) and Kristin Gardiner (Storrs, CT) of the University of Connecticut soccer programs were named 2001-02 BIG EAST/Aéropostale Scholar-Athlete winners as announced by the league’s Academic Awards Committee on Tuesday morning. Ndiaye, of the men’s soccer program, joined 12 other BIG EAST male student-athletes, while Gardiner, of the women’s soccer team, was among 13 female student-athletes from the conference. Both Ndiaye and Gardiner will receive a $2,000 stipend toward graduate studies.
In his four-year career as a Husky, Ndiaye played in 84 games recording six goals and seven assists for 19 points. He is a four-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team in his freshman year. Ndiaye was a solid component to the UConn midfield line with his defensive style of play. During the 2001 season, he netted two goals and two assists for six points and helped hold the opponents to an average one goal per game. He was recently drafted to the MLS’ NY/NJ Metro Stars and was selected to participate in the 2002 Umbro Select All-Star Classic for the top collegiate seniors in Division I soccer. A double major in French and Economics, Ndiaye holds a 3.50 grade point average heading into his last semester at UConn. He already earned an undergraduate degree in Operations and Information Management as part of the School of Business.
For her career, Gardiner recorded one goal and two assists for four points and stands tied for sixth in the UConn record books in games played with 98. A three-time member of the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team, she holds a major in Chemical Engineering and has a grade point average of 3.44 heading into her last semester at UConn. Gardiner, a four-year starter on defense, played in 23 of 24 games in 2001. She helped the Huskies to an 18-6-0 overall record and a third straight BIG EAST Northeast Division title. UConn also advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by Penn State.
Notre Dame’s Jarrah Myers was named the 2001-02 BIG EAST/Aéropostale Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Seton Hall’s Gregory Strohmann was named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Both Myers and Strohmann will receive a $4,000 stipend which will be applied to graduate studies.
Aéropostale Stores is the official apparel of BIG EAST Championships and is the sponsor of the Conference’s Post Graduate Student-Athlete Scholarship Program. This year Aéropostale will award 31 scholarships to Conference student-athletes to assist in their pursuit of graduate or professional studies. The Men’s and Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athletes will be announced in conjunction with the BIG EAST Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships on March 1 and 5. Aéropostale is a popular clothing and accessories retailer that has over 275 stores in 37 states throughout the United States. Named after the Compagnie Generale Aéropostale, the pioneer French airmail company, the merchandise continues to embody the spirit and adventure of its name. The company also operates a web site at www.aeropostale.com.
The men’s winners are: Brian Macchi, Boston College (Baseball, Elementary Education and Human Development); Mansour Ndiaye, Connecticut (Soccer, Management Information Systems/French/Economics); Kyle Prandi, Miami (Swimming & Diving, Psychology); Marc Striowski, Notre Dame (Cross Country/Track & Field, Business Administration/Accounting/Finance-minor); Peter Veltri, Pittsburgh (Soccer, Information Science); Dermot Galvin, Providence (Cross Country/Track & Field, Finance); Brian Matthews, Rutgers (Golf, Political Science); Charles Bilezikjian, St. John’s (Baseball, Education/Elementary Education); Zachary Posey, Syracuse (Swimming & Diving, Biochemistry); Robert Grzenda, Villanova (Baseball, Communication/Sociology-minor); Jason Bush, Virginia Tech (Baseball, Industrial and Systems Engineering); Chin Orih, West Virginia (Soccer, Marketing).
The women’s winners are: Katie Ryan, Boston College (Cross Country/Track & Field, Management/Information Systems & Math); Kristin Gardiner, Connecticut (Soccer, Chemical Engineering); Tyrona Heath, Georgetown (Track & Field, International Economics); Monika Manios, Miami (Rowing, Architecture); Amanda Schmidt, Pittsburgh (Cross Country/Track & Field, Rehabilitation Science); Kate Willett, Providence (Field Hockey, Marketing); Meghan McConville, Rutgers (Field Hockey, Communications, Psychology-minor); Lisa Tropea, St. John’s (Softball, Education/Elementary Education); Brigid Sullivan, Seton Hall (Soccer, Communications); Tracy Stalker, Syracuse (Soccer, Nutrition); Janel Schillig, Villanova (Soccer, Biological Sciences); Ashlee Dobbe, Virginia Tech (Softball, Human Nutrition/Foods & Exercise); Merissa Sexsmith, West Virginia (Cross Country/Track & Field, Speech Pathology).
