NDSU's Anderson Named Summit League Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

ELMHURST, Ill. - IUPUI men's soccer player Perez Agaba (Kampala, Uganda) and North Dakota State women's golfer Amy Anderson (Oxbow, N.D.) have been selected as the 2011-12 Summit League Scholar-Athletes of the Year in a vote by the league's faculty athletic representatives. The Summit League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the most prestigious individual honor given by the league.

Anderson, a junior accounting major at North Dakota State, is a three-time Academic All-American and won the 2012 Dinah Shore Trophy which is awarded to one collegiate women's golfer annually based on academic, athletic and community affairs excellence. She is a three-year member of the Bison Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and earned the NDSU Bison Most Valuable Scholar Award this year. Anderson earned Dean's List honors all three years and was awarded the Presidential Honors Scholarship. She is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society serving business programs. Last season, Anderson was the NCAA Elite 88 award winner as the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the national championship site. The junior has volunteered her time at numerous functions including elementary schools, carnivals, the stocking stuffer program and as a guest speaker at the LPGA Girls Golf Camp.

On the golf course, Anderson led The Summit League by almost three strokes with a 73.04 average through 28 rounds. She won five tournaments for the third-straight year, set a Bison school record with a low round of 66 at the Jackrabbit Invitational, and finished fourth or higher in 10 of 11 competitions this season. A three-time NCAA Regional qualifier, Anderson has captured Summit League Golfer of the Year honors all three years, becoming the first golfer to accomplish the feat, and has been crowned Championship MVP the last two years. Anderson was also selected to play for Team USA at the 2012 Curtis Cup and World University Golf Championships this summer. She is a two-time All-American, finished in a tie for 12th place at the 2011 NCAA Championships as a sophomore and holds numerous school records.

Capturing the award for the second-straight season, Agaba graduated with a biomedical engineering degree and a minor in math/pre-med from IUPUI this spring. He became the sixth student-athlete to earn multiple awards. The senior was named an academic All-American for the second consecutive year as he garnered Capital One second team honors last fall. Agaba was named one of IUPUI's Top 100 students and was on the School of Engineering & Technology's Dean's List all four years. A four-time Academic All-Summit League and three-time Commissioner's List of Excellence selection during his career, Agaba has also earned the Bepko Scholarship, ProAAct Scholarship and Mike Carroll Scholarship awards during his tenure at IUPUI. This season, he was named a Lowe's Senior CLASS First Team All-American and was a finalist for the national award. Agaba received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and is a mentor and tutor in math and chemistry at both IUPUI and Harshman Elementary School in Indianapolis. He also volunteers his time with the Urban Soccer Development Program, Project Lead the Way and at the National Robotics Competition.

On the field, Agaba appeared in 15 matches for the Jaguars this season and finished second on the team in goals (3) and points (8) while ranking third in shot attempts (16). He earned Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 6, after totaling three points in a 2-2 tie at No. 21 Kentucky. For his career, Agaba had 14 goals and eight assists (36 points) with five game-winners while playing in 69 matches. He was a two-time Summit League All-Tournament Team selection and in 2010 was an All-Summit League selection and earned NSCAA/Performance Subaru Second Team All-Midwest Region honors.

Also nominated for the Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award: Drew Imel, IPFW (golf); Cosmas Ayabei, UMKC (cross country/track & field); Zach Wentz, North Dakota State (baseball); Timothy Montague, Oakland (swimming & diving); Shadrack Koech, Oral Roberts (cross country/track & field); Chad Pinkelman, South Dakota (track & field); Jacob Schneller, South Dakota State (track & field); Jeff Liles, Western Illinois (track & field).

Also nominated for the Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award: Lauren McCracken, IPFW (soccer); Lizzie Bourgeois, IUPUI (swimming & diving); Kaelene Curry, UMKC (softball); Alyssa Vela, Oakland (swimming & diving); Kristen Radcliff, Oral Roberts (cross country/track & field); Elizabeth Hoffman, South Dakota (swimming & diving); Jill Young, South Dakota State (basketball); Jenna Verity, Western Illinois (track & field).