Five MCC athletes earn SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards

Five MCC athletes earn SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards

Five Monroe Community College student-athletes were named State University of New York Scholar Athlete Award winners for their excellence in the classroom and on the playing fields.

Ryan Sullivan (baseball), Craig Willis (ice hockey), Megan Thayer (soccer), Melissa Ashby (swimming), and Ryan Kuperus (lacrosse) were MCC's winners. All Scholar Athletes were honored in a ceremony on May 1, at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York.

The Chancellor's Scholar Athlete Award recognizes a combination of academic excellence and outstanding athletic achievement at the Division I, Division III and NJCAA levels. Seventy student athletes, in 19 different sports, from 28 SUNY colleges and universities were selected.

Sullivan (Hilton) was a second-team All-Region performer as a freshman and was named first-team all-conference during the 2005 fall season. He has been accepted to the University of Rochester's engineering and physics program, where he will continue his athletic and academic careers.

Willis (Brockport) was a first-team All-Region and All-American as he helped lead the MCC hockey team to the national semifinals. He led the nation in scoring.

Thayer (Wayne) earned All-Conference, All-Region and All-American honors as she helped the MCC women's soccer team win the NJCAA Division I national title. She was voted the goalkeeper of the national tournament.

Ashby (St. George's, Grenada), a 2005 and 2006 College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-American, was the 2006 regional and district champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Ashby represented her native Grenada at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Kuperus (Newark) was an All-Region selection as a freshman and was also named an Academic All-American.

"The Scholar Athlete Award is one of the most selective and prestigious awards bestowed by SUNY, because it speaks to the hard work and dedication our student athletes put forth in classrooms and on the fields, courts and courses where they compete throughout the year," SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan said. "Their success also speaks volumes about the quality of programs and curriculum of SUNY's campuses, coaches, faculty and students."