Empire 8 Announces Senior Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
May 11, 2006
ROCHESTER, NY - Jennifer Tuttle of Elmira College and
Ryan Smith of Hartwick College have been named the 2006
Empire 8 Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winners. This
marks the first year of the award that honors those
student-athletes who best exemplify what it means to
be a dedicated scholar and athlete over the course of
their four-year collegiate careers.
"Jennifer and Ryan represent the very best of their
institutions and Empire 8 athletics," said Empire
8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. "As college students,
it is difficult to endure a rigorous academic schedule.
Combine that with competing in demanding athletic programs
and it is truly amazing to see how these individuals
excelled in all aspects of collegiate life."
The award winners are selected by a committee comprised
of conference Faculty Athletic Representatives. To be
eligible, a student-athlete must maintain at least a
3.75 cumulative grade point average.
Tuttle, a four-year starter for the women's soccer team
at Elmira, made the Empire 8 Presidents' List each of
her four years and received numerous academic honors
at her institution. She was an honor scholar and made
the Dean's List each of her four years and earned Summa
Cum Laude recognition in 2004-05. A Phi Beta Kappa Junior
Prize Winner, Tuttle was a Valedictorian Scholar, and
a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Kappa Delta Phi each of
her four years. Entering her final semester, Tuttle
carried a 3.958 grade point average while majoring in
Childhood Education.
Tuttle was a four-time Empire 8 all-conference player,
including earning first-team honors in her first three
seasons. She was named Empire 8 Women's Soccer Rookie
of the Year in 2002 and twice earned National Soccer
Coaches Association of America All-New York Region accolades.
She finished her career as the school's all-time leading
scorer with 59 goals and 128 points in 70 games. In
2004, Tuttle was named to the College Sports Information
Directors of America Academic All-District First Team.
"Jennifer has truly distinguished herself as one
of the elite women's soccer players in our conference
the past four years." Mitrano said. "Her athletic
abilities are surpassed only by her academic achievement
while at Elmira College. She is a very unique individual."
Smith, who swam four years on the Hartwick swimming
team, was recently selected as a 2006 Fulbright Scholar
to Germany where he will serve as an English teaching
assistant and conduct research. A four-year member of
the Empire 8 Presidents' List, he has made the Dean's
List each of his four years as well as the Upper New
York State Collegiate Swimming Association All-Academic
Team. Smith, who has a triple major in political science,
economics, and German, received the 2005-06 Hartwick
College Ubert Scholarship, awarded to three students
annually for excellence in academics and leadership.
Smith was awarded the school's Emerson International
Internship Scholarship In Community Development in 2005,
which he used in Tanga, Tanzania. He swam in the 100
and 200 breaststroke events all four years, improving
his times from year to year in each event. He also swam
the 200 individual medley for two years and the 400
individual medley for two years. Hartwick captured the
Empire 8 and UNYSCSA titles in 2006.
"Not only is Ryan a very competitive swimmer in
various events, he is a dynamic student with outstanding
leadership skills," Mitrano said. "He has
a very bright future."