Record Number of Students Honored at Academic Banquet

Lincoln - The University of Nebraska honored 235 student-athletes for their academic achievements at the Ninth Annual Nebraska Student-Athlete Academic Awards Banquet held at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday evening. The 235 honorees was the highest ever honored, bettering the total of 220 student-athletes last year.

The University presented gold medallions to 59 student-athletes who had grade-point averages of 3.75 or better, 55 silver medallions to student-athletes with GPAs between 3.50 and 3.749, and 121 bronze medallions to student-athletes with grade-point averages of 3.0 or better.

Dr. Barbara Hibner, Senior Woman Administrator, presented the women's cross country and the men's gymnastics teams the Herman Team GPA Awards, awarded annually to the NU teams with the highest GPA over the past two semesters. The women's cross country team compiled a cumulative grade- point average of 3.599 while the men's gymnastics team combined for a 3.195 GPA.

Nebraska Director of Athletics Bill Byrne presented Fiona Nepo (Volleyball) and Jim Koziol (Gymnastics) with the Student-Athlete of the Year awards. Nepo, a middle-school education major, was a three-time All-American for Head Coach Terry Pettit. A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Nepo was the Big 12 Player of the Year last season in helping NU to a 32-2 record and an appearance in the Final Four.

Koziol, a biological sciences major who has compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.66, is an All-American on still rings for Head Coach Francis Allen. The Omaha, Neb., native finished fourth at the 1998 NCAA Championships on still rings and is a finalist for the 1999 Nissen Award, given annually to the nation's top senior gymnast.

Current sports commentator and former basketball Olympian Ann Meyers Drysdale was the keynote speaker at tonight's banquet. She stressed strong family values as being a key to her success.