Stevens
Point, Wis.--After an illustrious career both in athletic competition and
in the classroom, UW-Stevens Point's Tara Schmitt has been selected the women's
NCAA Division III recipient of the Woody Hayes National Scholar Athlete Award.The honor is presented to one male and one female athlete in each of the three NCAA divisions. In its 18th year, the award is sponsored by the Ohio State University and Northwest Sertoma Club and will be presented at a ceremony on Jan. 28 in Columbus, Ohio.
Schmitt is the first UW-Stevens Point recipient of the award and continues a remarkable run of student-athlete success for the school. UW-Stevens Point has had two winners of the NCAA Top VIII Award over the past three years as well as 22 Academic All-Americans during the past five years.
A Brookfield native and Waukesha Catholic Memorial High School graduate, Schmitt carries a 3.85 grade point average in Physical Education while earning nine varsity letters. She helped the women's basketball team to two final four appearances in her four seasons and played on four NCAA tournament qualifying soccer teams. Schmitt also ran track for one year and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay squad in 2002. In addition, Schmitt has been very active in community organizations and has been president of the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee the past two years.
Schmitt compiled a combined 167-31-6 record during her basketball and soccer career. She was the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and scholar athlete award winner this past season in soccer while earning her fourth All-Conference selection. Schmitt was also named to the all-final four team, while helping the Pointers to the national championship in basketball in 2002.
In her role with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Schmitt helped organize events with regard to the WIAC Food Drive, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Salvation Army bell ringing. She is also a student director of the campus intramural program and is an assistant coach with the Stevens Point Area Senior High girls' basketball team this season.
The Division III male recipient of the award is Paul Whiting, a football and baseball player at Amherst (Mass.). The Division I selections are Tennessee football player Michael Munoz and Virginia rower Jennifer Reck. The Division II honorees are Bentley (Mass.) swimmer Brian Castagna and Wingate (N.C.) volleyball player Lindsay Hinson.
The six winners will also spend a day in Columbus visiting local centers for speech and hearing, cancer and early childhood.
