Feb. 11, 2004
Georgia Tech all-America volleyball player Kele Eveland, basketball standout Marvin Lewis, and football player Hal Higgins are among the 26 Atlantic Coast Conference scholar-athletes who have been named recipients of the 2004 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarships, as announced by Commissioner John Swofford.
The scholarships are given to selected ACC student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate-level degree following graduation. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to use towards his or her graduate education. Student-athletes receiving the award have performed with distinction both in the classroom and in their respective sports, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community. The award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver and Bob James as well as Gene Corrigan, past ACC commissioners. The league’s first commissioner, James H. Weaver, served the conference from 1954 to 1970. Robert C. James, a former University of Maryland football player, was named commissioner in 1971 and served for 16 years. Eugene F. Corrigan assumed his role as the third full-time commissioner on September 1, 1987 and served until August of 1997.
Eveland, a senior setter from Grand Rapids, Mich., led the Tech volleyball program to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a berth in the 2003 NCAA Final Eight and a final national ranking of No. 8 as the Yellow Jackets recorded the most successful season in conference history. She was named a first-team All-America in 2003 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the first first-team All-America volleyball player in Georgia Tech and ACC history. The 2003 ACC Player of the Year and three-time All-ACC selection set an NCAA season record for assists in 2003 and finished her career as the Georgia Tech and ACC leader in career assists with 6,464, which ranks fourth in NCAA history.
A senior from Germantown, Md., Lewis is a four-year starter and two-time team captain for Georgia Tech’s nationally-ranked basketball team, helping the program to its most successful season in a decade. Currently averaging 11.9 points per game, he is one of the most prolific three-point shooters and accurate free throw shooters in school history. He is a two-time member of the ACC All-Academic Basketball team and three-year member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. The Dean’s List student will graduate this semester with a degree in Management, and he plans to become a certified public accountant.
Higgins, from Cornelia, Ga., was a three-year starter for Georgia Tech football team as holder who also started one year at punter. He was named to the 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District III Football team and is a three-year member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. He graduated with Highest Honor, earning B.S. degree in Management in December 2002, and then played his final season while enrolled in graduate school. He was a finalist for ESPN the Magazine/Football Writers Association of America Courage Award in recognition of his successful battle with Hodgkin’s disease.
The following is a complete list of the Weaver-James-Corrigan scholars: Clemson – Antonio L. Elliott (football); Allison C. Mitchell (soccer); Kanetra L. Queen (basketball); Duke – Leigh Anne Hardin (golf); Alex Wade (football); Brent Warner (track & field); Florida State – Anca Dumitrescu (tennis); Michael Paulus (swimming); Tonya K. Rasor (swimming); Georgia Tech – Kele Drew Eveland (volleyball); Hal Franklin Higgins (football); Marvin Anthony Lewis (basketball); Maryland – Emily Kathryn Marker (tennis); Sara Gina Silvetti (field hockey); North Carolina – Rebecca Dale Acker (swimming); Jessica Erin Perruquet (swimming); Alice Ann Schmidt (cross country & track); NC State – Megan Elizabeth Coombs (cross country & track); Adam Paul Kiker (football); Kristin Michelle Price (cross country & track); Virginia – Amy McParland Baly (swimming); Ian Marshall Prichard (swimming); Luke Eugene Wagner (swimming); Wake Forest – William Russell Hesmer (soccer); Weston Wyatt Saunders (soccer); Katherine Barden Winstead (soccer).
Recipients of the Weaver-James-Corrigan honorary awards follow: North Carolina – Jeb Barton Terry (football); Duke – Virada Nirapathpongporn (golf); Virginia – Jen Ann Reck (rowing).
The 29 student-athletes will be honored Tuesday, April 13, 2004, in Greensboro, N.C., at a luncheon hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis. The luncheon will be held at the Koury Convention Center.
