Aztecs Honored For Work In Classroom

A San Diego State athletic department-record 305 scholar-athletes were honored at the 19th Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on campus.

This is the eighth consecutive year the student-athlete total has increased

Student athletes

D.J. Shields, a senior tight end on the football team from Bonita, Calif., and Andrea Hannasch, a senior middle blocker on the volleyball team from New Braunfels, Texas, were named 2013 Student-Athletes of the Year for excellence in academics, athletics and leadership, while boasting outstanding character.

Shields, a civil engineering major, finished the fall semester with a 3.87 grade-point-average, which was the highest on the team. The senior caught six passes for 56 yards and a touchdown last season, appearing in all 12 games and making four starts. The senior also won the Presidents Award for high academic achievement at the football awards banquet in the fall.

Hannasch, a mathematics major with minors in physics and computer science, had a cumulative 3.82 GPA in the fall semester. The senior was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Women’s Volleyball second team, received honorable mention All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), and was named to the AVCA All-West Region team.

Hannasch ranked among the top 10 in the Mountain West conference in hitting percentage, blocks and points this past season. She also ended her time at SDSU second on the career list in block assists, and was a three-time all-Mountain West selection.

Malik Awardees

The Malik Award was presented to 11 student-athletes who achieved the highest grade-point averages in a semester. The honor is named after James Malik, who is a San Diego State professor emeritus of Chemistry at SDSU.

This year's Malik Award recipients include:

• Alicia Aguilar (women’s tennis)
• Julianne Alarcio (track and field)
• Roxanne Ellison (women’s tennis)
• Sierra Ellison (women’s tennis)
• Leanne Ford (water polo),
• Sarah Haydock (track and field)
• Kelsie Jarratt (track and field)
• Thoraya Maronsey (track and field)
• Monique Martinez (cross country/track and field)
• Isabelle Pickett (lacrosse)
• D.J. Shields (football)

Team honors

The Aztec men's tennis (2.98) and women's tennis (3.32) teams won the High GPA Awards in the fall, while the men’s soccer (2.87) and women’s tennis (3.43) squads took the High GPA Awards for the spring. In addition, Sally Roush, Vice President of Business Affairs, won the Dr. James Kitchen Award for Distinguished Service.