UWM's Patzman, CSU's Houchin Honored as U.S. Army Scholar-Athletes of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball player Tim Patzman and Cleveland State University softball player Amanda Houchin have been named U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week for the week ending May 17, League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Thursday (May 21).

Patzman (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West), a junior outfielder, batted .733 (11-for-15) with five runs-batted-in and six runs scored to lead Milwaukee to a 4-0 record during the final week of the regular season. He had multiple hits in three of the four games, including going 5-for-5 in a 7-6 victory over Northern Illinois University May 12. Patzman also was 6-for-10 in the Panthers' three-game weekend sweep of Butler University to clinch the No.-2 seed in this week's Horizon League tournament.

In the classroom, Patzman carries a 3.58 grade-point average as a kinesiology major at Milwaukee.

Houchin (Lima, Ohio/Bath), a senior third baseman, homered in the opening game of the NCAA Regional last Friday, accounting for Cleveland State's only run in a 3-1 loss to the University of Notre Dame. She concluded the season with a .342 batting average to go along with 11 home runs and 36 runs-batted-in as the Vikings won their first Horizon League championship since 1997. The award is Houchin's second in as many weeks.

A psychology and criminology major, Houchin owns a 3.47 grade-point average at Cleveland State.

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, 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.