Athletic Academic Awards Banquet honors student-athletes

Dozens of FIU student-athletes were honored for their academic and athletic excellence at the FIU Athletic Academic Awards Banquet on April 15 at the Pharmed Arena at University Park. Forty student-athletes were named to the Dean’s List for posting a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Pitcher Walker Whitley won the President’s Award, given to the senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average. A business major with an emphasis on real estate, Whitley will graduate later this semester with a 3.87 cumulative GPA.

Senior Tabitha Embry, who tied the school softball record for home runs earlier in April, won the Dr. Judith Blucker Award as the female student-athlete who displays integrity and fair play on the field as well as excellence in the classroom. Embry, a chemistry major, has earned a 3.55 GPA while being a two-time All-Sun Belt selection.

The tennis team, ranked in the top 35 of the FILA/ITA rankings the entire season, won the Adidas Athletic Director’s Award, given to the FIU athletic team with the highest team GPA.

Football player Alexander Bostic III and softball player Deomni Murray were recognized as the male and female student-athletes who best represented sporting behavior throughout the year and will be candidates for the Sun Belt Conference Sporting Behavior Award.

Other student-athletes recognized were Alyse Santisi (volleyball), Raoul Voss (men’s soccer), Kia Rigsby (women’s soccer), Lasma Jekabsone (women’s basketball), Mike James (men’s basketball), Chris Dunn (baseball), Shilla D’Armas (tennis), Maria Hernandez (golf), Jose Castro (men’s cross country), Michael Pujol (men’s track and field), Katherine Cardenas (women’s cross country), Karina Edwards (women’s track and field) and Sarah Perfetti (swimming and diving).

The swimming and diving team won the Dr. Paul D. Gallagher Community Service Award for being the most active FIU team in the community.

Castro and Chrisna Luss (swimming and diving) won the Michael Felsberg Spirit Award, given to the male and female student-athletes who best exemplify school spirit. Felsberg, a former FIU student-athlete and Marine second lieutenant, was killed in action in Iraq. As a student-athlete, Felsberg won the Spirit Award three times as the number one supporter of his colleagues, and the award was named in his honor posthumously.

Golden Panther softball players earn SBC kudos

After leading FIU to an historic three-game road sweep over then-No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette, senior catcher Tabitha Embry and sophomore Penny Eastman were named the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, on April 9.

This is the fourth time in school history that the Golden Panthers swept each of the SBC two weekly awards in the same week.

Embry, who picked up her third Player of the Week award of her career and is one of just two Golden Panther to have won multiple player of the week awards, was a part of the most recent FIU double on March 21, 2006. The other two came on March 28 and April 11 of the ‘05 season.

Football class grows to 20

FIU’s 2007 recruiting class has grown to 20 with the addition of Sylmar High School (Calif.) defensive end James Wiggins, who signed a National Letter of Intent to attend and play football with the Golden Panthers on March 31. Wiggins, a team captain as a senior for head coach London Woodfin, is an explosive, off-the-edge pass rusher with long arms, wide range and great growth potential, FIU head coach Mario Cristobal said. Several schools showed interest in Wiggins, including Washington and Washington State.

Despite not playing football until his sophomore season, Wiggins stood out at Sylmar and was an All-Valley Mission League selection as a senior. Although avoiding Wiggins was a point of emphasis for opposing offenses, he managed to compile 32 tackles and 6.0 sacks in eight games, according to Woodfin. He also ranked second on the team in receiving yards with 86 on three receptions, but played primarily in goal-line situations as a tight end. Wiggins also played basketball through his senior season.

Earlier in March, the class became a little bit stronger when Fairfax, Va., defensive end Bryan Frye signed a National Letter of Intent to play with the FIU team. Frye, a First Team All-Metro and First Team All-Washington D.C. 1AA selection for Woodson High School in 2006, recorded 65 tackles and had 23 sacks in his senior campaign. He chose FIU after receiving interest from Illinois and North Carolina.

In February, Cristobal announced that his first recruiting class consists of 18 student-athletes, including 14 from the state of Florida – eight from South Florida – and four from outside the Sunshine State. The class reflects an emphasis on offensive players.