Butler's Graves, Loyola's VanBogaert Named Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week

Feb. 19, 2008

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Butler University senior A.J. Graves (men's basketball) and Loyola University Chicago sophomore Elyse VanBogaert (women's basketball) have been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Tuesday (Feb. 19).

Graves helped the Bulldogs to three consecutive Horizon League victories, extending Butler's winning streak to eight games as part of a 24-2 overall record. Graves averaged 13.7 points and four rebounds for the week, including a 15-point performance in Saturday's (Feb. 16) victory over Cleveland State University. That effort avenged one of Butler's two previous losses and followed a similar 15-point outing against Youngstown State University on Thursday (Feb. 14).

In the classroom, Graves owns a 3.349 grade-point average as a mathematics major. A First-Team CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America choice in 2006-07, he is on the ballot to repeat that honor this season after his selection as an Academic All-District V honoree earlier this month. Graves also gained Academic All-Horizon League honors last winter. The weekly award is Graves' second this season and the fourth of his career.

VanBogaert recorded a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds to pace the Ramblers past intra-city rival University of Illinois at Chicago, 63-57, on Saturday. The victory ended Loyola's six-game losing streak in the series and marked her second consecutive double-double. The sophomore averages 11.4 points per game for the season and ranks seventh in the League in field-goal percentage (.518).

In the classroom, VanBogaert boasts a 3.65 grade-point average and has not decided upon a major. She was a member of the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll last fall, the first time she was eligible for any of the League's academic awards.

The Horizon League instituted the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards as a way to recognize outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution and passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours, and perform well during the week's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.

OTHER MALE NOMINEES:

Aric VanWeelden, Loyola (basketball, sophomore, 3.52, business) averaged 4.5 points and three rebounds in two road games for the Ramblers. He scored a career-best nine points and grabbed two rebounds in his first career start at Detroit on Saturday after collecting four rebounds against Wright State on Thursday.

Jake Diebler, Valparaiso (basketball, junior, 3.586, marketing) averaged 8.3 points, three rebounds and three assists in three games. He scored a season-high 14 points to help the Crusaders past Youngstown State on Saturday (Feb. 16), canning a career-best four three-pointers in that game after hitting three treys in Thursday's (Feb. 14) loss to Cleveland State.

Aaron Merrill, Youngstown State (indoor track and field, junior, 3.66, criminal justice) broke the school record in the shot put (54-10) and posted a personal-best mark in the weight throw (54-0) at the Baldwin-Wallace Mid-February Meet on Friday (Feb. 15). His effort in the shot put is the best by a Horizon League competitor this season, while his mark in the weight throw ranks fifth in school history.

OTHER FEMALE NOMINEES:

Whitney Willard, Cleveland State (softball, senior, 3.44, art) helped the Vikings to a 4-0 record and the championship of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Classic over the weekend. She compiled a .500 batting average (5-for-10) with a double, three runs scored, four RBI and three stolen bases.

Alyssa Bradford, Valparaiso (indoor track and field, sophomore, 3.968, exercise science) placed fifth in the 3,000-meter run at the Chicagoland Championships on Saturday. Her time of 11:00.76 was more than 22 seconds better than the Crusaders' previous season-best in the event.

PREVIOUS U.S. ARMY SCHOLAR-ATHLETES:
Aug. 28-- Nina Inic (Butler, volleyball) (no men's honoree)
Sept. 5-- Ryan Miller (Green Bay, cross country); Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Sept. 11 -- Chris Honig (Valparaiso, cross country); Katarina Hanackova (UIC, volleyball)
Sept. 18 -- Malcolm DeBaun (Loyola, soccer); Betty Slinger (Green Bay, volleyball)
Sept. 25 -- Markian Zyga (Loyola, soccer); Sara Hughes (Valparaiso, volleyball)
Oct. 2 -- Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Ani Michl (Valparaiso, soccer)
Oct. 9 -- Zeke Dombrowski (Milwaukee, soccer); Lotte Rasmussen (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 16 -- Kent Wories (Butler, cross country); Amanda Stinson (Green Bay, soccer)
Oct. 23-- Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Alyse Serritella (Loyola, volleyball)
Oct. 30-- Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Genni Gardner (Butler, cross country)
Nov. 6-- Steve Grove (Cleveland State, swimming); Beth Steuer (Milwaukee, soccer)
Nov. 13-- Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Cynthia Morote-Ariza (Loyola, soccer)
Nov. 20-- Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Mel Snyder (Cleveland State, volleyball)
Nov. 27-- A.J. Graves (Butler, basketball); Kailey Klein (Cleveland State, basketball)
Dec. 4 -- Drew Streicher (Butler, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 11-- Jake Diebler (Valparaiso, basketball); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Dec. 18-- Samuel Haanpää (Valparaiso, basketball); Leah Hochstetler (Valparaiso, basketball)
Jan. 8-- Ryan Tillema (Green Bay, basketball); Kayla Groh (Green Bay, basketball)
Jan. 15-- Mike Schachtner (Green Bay, basketball); Kari Helland (Green Bay, diving)
Jan. 22 -- Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, indoor track & field); Kelsey Hausken (Green Bay, swimming)
Jan. 29-- Robby Leibold (Milwaukee, swimming); Jessica Weidert (Wright State, swimming)
Feb. 4-- Jeremy Waldhart (Milwaukee, swimming); Ashley Hall (Milwaukee, diving)
Feb. 11-- Phil Orno (Cleveland State, tennis); Kat Krause (Loyola, softball)

MULTIPLE- AWARD WINNERS:
3 - Ashley Hall, Milwaukee
3 - Robby Leibold, Milwaukee
2 - Steve Grove, Cleveland State
2 - Mike Schachtner, Green Bay
2 - Kent Wories, Butler

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Comprised of ten public and private institutions of higher learning, the Horizon League is an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 intercollegiate championship sports and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The League and its member institutions aspire to teach young people, through athletic competition, the value of learning, service to others and personal responsibility.