March 9, 2009
ATLANTA – Senior catcher Jason Haniger is one of 42 Atlantic Coast Conference scholar-athletes selected to receive postgraduate scholarships, ACC Commissioner John D. Swofford announced Monday.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker scholarships are given to selected 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 in both the classroom and in their respective sports, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.
Haniger has a 3.53 overall grade point average and maintains a 3.80 GPA in his management classes. He is set to receive his undergraduate degree this December, and will also earn a certificate in finance. The postgraduate scholarship is one of several awards the Santa Clara, Calif., native has garnered over the last year, including being named a 2009 Peach of an Athlete by the Boy Scouts of America in addition to receiving the Bobby Dodd Scholarship as the top returning scholar-athlete at Georgia Tech.
A member of ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District squad in 2008, Haniger is a two-year member of Georgia Tech’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board as the baseball team’s liaison. He has played a vital role in the baseball team’s community service activities – both in organizing and attending – and returned for his senior year at Georgia Tech despite being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates last June.
Haniger is currently leading the team with a .400 batting average, and has two home runs, 10 RBI, a .486 on base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage in 2009.
Haniger joins two other Tech student-athletes – golfer David Dragoo and softball standout Whitney Haller – on the 2009 ACC Postgraduate Awards list.
The 42 ACC student-athletes receiving the award will be honored April 15, 2009, in Greensboro, N.C., at a luncheon hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis Club. The luncheon will be held at the Koury Convention Center.
Haniger will be unable to attend the luncheon due to the fact that the Yellow Jacket baseball team will be playing Georgia State that evening.
Weaver-James-Corrigan Award Recipients are as follows: Boston College – Caroline Byron (women’s swimming and diving); Bob Dirks (field hockey); Emily Hannigan (women’s lacrosse); Clemson – Megan Bendik (rowing). Jimmy Maners (football), Rachel Regone (women’s swimming and diving); Duke – Kim Imbesi (women’s lacrosse), Melissa Mang, (women’s tennis), Peter Truszkowski (fencing); Florida State – Ania Rynarzewska (women’s tennis); Keyla Smith (women’s track and field); Matt Wernke (men’s track and field); Georgia Tech – David Dragoo (men’s golf), Whitney Haller (softball); Jason Haniger (baseball), Maryland – Dean Muhtadi (football), Sarah Scholl (field hockey); Christen Vagts (water polo); Miami – Britta Boesing (women’s swimming and diving), Corynn Carino (women’s soccer), Nene Kamate, (women’s track and field); North Carolina – Brock Baker (men’s cross country), Kelly Davies (women’s volleyball), Kelly Taylor (women’s lacrosse) ; NC State – Aiwane Iboaya (volleyball), Tami Krzeszewski (women’s soccer); Ashley Shepard (gymnastics); Virginia – Billie-Jo Grant (women’s track and field), Ryan Hurley (men’s swimming and diving), Pat Mellors (men’s swimming and diving); Virginia Tech – Tasmin Fanning (women’s track and field); Kim Hickey (women’s soccer); Taylor Walsh (men’s soccer); Wake Forest – Sam Cronin (men’s soccer), Camelyn Dillon (women’s soccer), Natalie Mullikin (volleyball).
