Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball place three on MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams
03/06/2007 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2007
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Southern Illinois women's basketball team garnered three spots on the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Teams the league announced Tuesday.
Saluki guards Erica Smith and Erin Pauk earned second-team honors, while Jayme Sweere earned honorable mention honors for the second-straight season.
Pauk, a first-team pick last season from St. Charles, Mo., carries a 3.95 GPA in psychology. The junior has come off the bench this season to average 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Smith, a first-time honoree from Florrisant, Mo., majors in business management. The sophomore carries a 3.71 GPA while averaging 6.9 points, a team-high 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists as the starting point guard.
Sweere, a Springfield, Mo. native, carries a 3.52 GPA in Radio/TV. The junior is second on the team averaging 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, have played at least 75 percent of a team's games, and must carry at least a 3.00 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).
Student-athletes must also have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
A total of 37 Valley student-athletes met the criteria for scholar-athlete honors in 2007.
First-Team
^Tahnee Balerio, Missouri State Junior 3.88 Private and Commercial Recreation
^Rachel Maenpaa, Indiana State Senior 3.63 English
^Rebekah Parker, Evansville Junior 3.60 Physical Education and Health
#^Laura Rudolphi, Indiana State Junior 4.00 Business Insurance
*^Lindsay Whorton, Drake Junior 4.00 Secondary Education
*repeat fi rst-team selections
#2007 CoSIDA Academic All-American
^2007 CoSIDA Academic All-District
Second-Team
Sara Cain, Creighton Junior 3.65 Exercise Science/Pre-Med
Kristi Cirone, Illinois State Sophomore 3.37 Exercise Science
Erin Pauk, Southern Illinois Junior 3.95 Psychology
Leah Phillips, Indiana State Sophomore 3.96 Radio/TV/Film
Erica Smith, Southern Illinois Sophomore 3.71 Business Management
Tiff Terwelp, Missouri State Junior 3.65 Early Childhood Education
Ally Thrall, Creighton Junior 3.72 Public Relations/Advertising
Honorable Mention
Brandy Dahir, Drake Junior 3.23 Secondary Education
Kelsey Keizer, Drake Sophomore 3.94 Accounting Management
Nicolle Lewis, Illinois State Sophomore 3.51 Exercise Science
Jayme Sweere, Southern Illinois Junior 3.52 Radio/TV
Marcy Sudbeck, Wichita State Sophomore 4.00 Exercise Science
Erika Nelson, Bradley Senior 3.17 Business Management & Administration
Shannon Novosel, Evansville Sophomore 3.81 Mass Communications
