Five Huskers Earn Big 12 Academic Honors

Lincoln - A conference-leading five Nebraska women's golfers earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors when the league office announced the academic teams on Tuesday.

Senior Stephanie Schaefer, juniors Merynn Ito and Stephanie Ruiz and sophomores Jackie Beste and Sara Sackett all claimed spots on the academic All-Big 12 first team by maintaining a 3.20 or better grade-point average during the previous semester or cumulatively, while participating in 60 percent of the Huskers' scheduled competitions during the 2003-04 season.

Schaefer (Columbus, Neb.) carries a 3.552 cumulative grade-point average as a Spanish/Coaching major.  Ito (Aiea, Hawaii) carries a 3.567 GPA as a news-editorial major, while Ruiz (Edmond, Okla.) owns a 3.009 GPA as a communication studies major.  Schaefer, Ito and Ruiz all claimed the second first-team academic All-Big 12 awards of their careers after all three earned spots on the 2003 team.

Beste (Sauk Centre, Minn.) has maintained a 3.88 grade-point average as an accounting major, while Sackett (Cambridge, Neb.) has earned back-to-back spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll as an elementary education/early childhood education major.

The five Huskers led a contingent of 36 golfers who earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors, while nine more student-athletes claimed second-team academic All-Big 12 accolades.  Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri and Texas A&M each placed four student-athletes on the first-team, while Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma each added three first-team All-Big 12 honorees.

The Huskers will put their athletic talents on display at the Big 12 Conference Women's Golf Championships April 23-25 at the Pebble Creek Country Club in College Station, Texas.  Former Husker Sarah Sasse earned the individual title at last season's conference championship.