88 FMU student-athletes named to PBC Honor Roll

The Peach Belt Conference announced that 836 student-athletes have been named to the 18th-annual Presidential Honor Roll.

The list includes 88 student-athletes from Francis Marion University.  FMU placed student-athletes on the list from all 12 of its sponsored sports.

The Presidential Honor Roll recognizes all student-athletes at PBC institutions who had a grade point average of 3.00 or higher, based on a 4.00 scale, for the 2008-09 academic year.   The honor roll is divided into four groups: Presidential Scholars (GPA of 3.00 to 3.24), Bronze Scholars (3.25 to 3.49), Silver Scholars (3.50 to 3.74), and Gold Scholars (3.75 to 4.00).

"I am very proud of the fact that our student-athletes continue to excel both on the playing field and in the classroom," said FMU director of athletics Murray Hartzler.  "They truly show how higher education and athletics, or other extracurricular activities, can work hand-in-hand.  The number of Patriots on this list represents nearly half of the approximately 180 students who compete annually in intercollegiate athletics at FMU."

Among the FMU athletes named to the honor roll were 10 who receive this recognition for the fourth time: men's tennis player Matthew Keth (Border, South Africa), women's basketball player Katherine Kiefer (Lilburn, GA), women's soccer players Brandi Bonifay (Stuart, FL) and Kiersten Nedervelt (Montpelier, VA), women's volleyball players Jenna Kaiser (Broomfield, CO) and Jessica Lombardi (Massillon, OH), and women's softball players Stevie Arrand (London, Ontario, Canada), Lakyn Bendle (Amsterdam, OH), Shawn Moore (Pamplico, SC), and Megan Pangburn (Covina, CA).

Earlier this year, a record 129 student-athletes at Francis Marion were named to the university's Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll.

FMU student-athletes named to the 2008-09 PBC Presidential Honor Roll are:

Gold Scholars (3.75 to 4.00 GPA):
Alex Lee (baseball), Blythewood, SC
Bastian Czwalinna (men’s tennis), Erlangen, Germany
Matthew Keth (men’s tennis), Border, South Africa
Jessie Alesi (women’s softball), Elk Grove Village, IL
Stevie Arrand (women’s softball), London, Ontario, Canada
Kat Beauvais (women’s softball), Manassas, VA
Tamela Bell (women’s softball), Covington, GA
Lakyn Bendle (women’s softball), Amsterdam, OH
Laura Hauff (women’s softball), Columbia, SC
Shawn Moore (women’s softball), Pamplico, SC
Brandi Bonifay (women’s soccer), Stuart, FL
Emily Brandenburg (women’s soccer), West Columbia, SC
Nina Connell (women’s soccer), North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Kiersten Nedervelt (women’s soccer), Montpelier, VA
Rachel Rubin (women’s soccer), Charlotte, NC
Kirby Stenard (women’s soccer), Cincinnati, OH
Silver Scholars (3.50 to 3.74 GPA):
Preston Shuey (baseball), Charlotte, NC
Josh Smith (baseball), Pageland, SC
Amanda Doyle (women’s cross country), Laurens, SC
Ronan O’Connor (golf), Dublin, Ireland
Kyle Clinton (men’s soccer), Safety Harbor, FL
Mario Kieck (men’s tennis), Hamburg, Germany
Valeska Ibscher (women’s tennis), Feucht, Germany
Amanda Mitchell (women’s volleyball), Farragut, TN
Jessica Lombardi (women’s volleyball), Massillon, OH
Jessica Birchmeier (women’s softball), Port Richey, FL
Kirby Ethridge (women’s softball), Lake City, SC
Megan Pangburn (women’s softball), Covina, CA
Michaela Wolf (women’s softball), Littleton, CO
Casey Durham (women’s soccer), Waldorf, MD
Angela Salem (women’s soccer), Copley, OH
Bronze Scholars (3.25 to 3.49 GPA):
Jarrott Hooks (baseball), Marion, SC
Tyler Lehman (baseball), Rock Hill, SC
Erik Sommerville (baseball), Charlotte, NC
David Balutis (men’s soccer), Florence, SC
Matt French (men’s basketball), Melbourne, Australia
Jerry Roth (men’s cross country), Avon Lake, OH
Samantha Smith (women’s cross country), Lexington, SC
Sawyer Frank (men’s soccer), Lake in the Hills, IL
Katherine Kiefer (women’s basketball), Lilburn, GA
Michael Hafke (men’s tennis), Palemby, Germany
Saskia Ludwig (women’s tennis), Cologne, Germany
Emily Hill (women’s volleyball), Clio, CA
Caitlin Simpson (women’s volleyball), Scottsdale, AZ
Jess O’Leary (women’s volleyball), St. Louis, MO
Hallie Legg (women’s volleyball), Uniontown, OH
Jenna Kaiser (women’s volleyball), Broomfield, CO
Katie Campbell (women’s softball), Frisco, TX
Emily Dean (women’s softball), Edmonds, WA
Jamie Holmes (women’s softball), Monroe, WA
Shannan Tyson (women’s softball), Seminole, FL
Kayla Denmyer (women’s soccer), New Freedom, PA
Margaret Fanning (women’s soccer), Bluffton, SC
Taylor Jenkins (women’s soccer), Frederick, MD
Presidential Scholars (3.00 to 3.24 GPA):
Camron Asbill (baseball), Overland Park, KS
Josh Biggers (baseball), Southlake, TX
Jordan Douglas (baseball), Johnsonville, SC
Keon Graves (baseball), Dillon, SC
Chris Honeycutt (baseball), Fort Mill, SC
Sebie Kirkland (baseball), Manning, SC
Phillip Mozingo (baseball), Florence, SC
Mark Sinkler (men’s basketball), Lugoff, SC
Steven Holmes (men’s cross country), Hodges, SC
Hillary Kiprop (men’s cross country), Eldoret, Kenya
Ben Miller (men’s cross country), Chesnee, SC
Keith Crowley (golf), Balincollig, Ireland
Matt Jackson (golf), Gloverville, SC
Andrew Pitcher (golf), Dublin, Ireland
Brynjar Bjornsson (men’s basketball), Reykjavik, Iceland
Matthew Stice (baseball), Omaha, NE
Willie Hunt (men’s soccer), Greer, SC
Ivan Juric (men’s soccer), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Justin Kibler (men’s soccer), Pickerington, OH
Jennifer Dyer (women’s basketball), Wake Forest, NC
Eboni Fields (women’s basketball), Hephzibah, GA
Shaquana Morgan (women’s basketball), Brooklyn, NY
Mickey Poirier (men’s tennis), Frederick, MD
Oshada Wijemanne (men’s tennis), Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dilshod Sharifi (men’s tennis), Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Karl Rogers (men’s tennis), Killiney, Ireland
Mary Beth Belk (women’s tennis), Florence, SC
Tereza Sykorova (women’s tennis), Prague, Czech Republic
Kelsie Deaton (women’s volleyball), Martinsville, IN
Ashlee Crook (women’s volleyball), Parker, CO
Maria Goode (women’s softball), Charlotte, NC
Nicole Reuter (women’s softball), El Reno, OK
Amanda Hall (women’s soccer), Anchorage, AK
Rebecca Nelson (women’s soccer), New Hyde Park, NY