BATON ROUGE — Kevin Dessauer from the LSU men’s tennis team and Lauren Klein from the gymnastics team headlined the list of award winners at the annual Tiger Athletic Foundation Academic Excellence Gala, which was held on Sunday night at the Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium.
Dessauer, who maintains a 4.0 grade point average in kinesiology, was named the winner of LSU Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, while Klein, who sports a 3.94 grade point average in biological sciences, was named the LSU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Dessauer is a key component on the Tigers’ nationally-ranked tennis team. Last year, he earned ESPN First-Team Academic All-America honors as well as being named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the sports of men’s tennis.
Klein ranked third in the nation in the floor exercise during the 2007 season as she went on to earn ESPN First-Team Academic All-America honors.
All honors awarded at the gala were based on performance in the classroom and field of competition during the 2006-07 season.
Eight other LSU student-athletes were named winners of the Wally Pontiff, Jr., Academic Excellence Award. Those award winners include: Katherine Accardo (track and field), 3.9 GPA in kinesiology; Paige Brown (swimming and diving), 3.9 GPA in biological engineering; Lindsey Day (track and field), 4.0 GPA in kinesiology; Ryan Fontenot (track and field), 3.94 GPA in biological engineering; Brian Leveille (men’s golf), 3.92 GPA in economics; Anna Lyons (track and field), 4.0 GPA in kinesiology; James Presley (track and field), 3.93 GPA in biological engineering; and Staten Spencer (women’s tennis), 3.94 GPA in economics.
In all, LSU honored 160 of its student-athletes for achievement in the classroom during the 2006-07 academic year. To be listed as a recipient of the LSU scholar-athlete award, a student must be either a member of the LSU Director’s Cup or the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
D-D Breaux‘s gymnastics team was named the recipient of the inaugural Tiger Cup, which is awarded to the LSU athletic team with the best overall production in areas of academics, competition, and community service. The gymnastics squad, which finished the 2007 season ranked No. 7 in the nation, also placed 10 athletes on the Director’s Cup and is the most community service-minded team of all sports at LSU.
The LSU men’s tennis team, coached by Jeff Brown, finished second in the Tiger Cup standings.
JaMarcus Russell and Kelly Phelan were named the TAF Male and Female Athletes of the Year for their performance during the 2006-07 seasons. Russell, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, capped his LSU career in 2006 by leading the Tigers to an 11-2 overall mark including a 41-14 victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
A first-team All-SEC selection in 2006, Russell is the only quarterback in school history to lead the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons. He also finished his career ranked among the top five in every passing category kept at the school. Russell’s career mark as LSU’s starting quarterback was 25-4.
Phelan earned first-team All-America honors in both the beam and floor exercise for her performance at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Phelan, a three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, won two all-around titles and three individual titles as a senior in 2007.
Other awards handed out at the Academic Gala included football’s Anthony Zehyoue as the recipient of the Eye of the Tiger Award for his ability to overcome adversity in his life to succeed both in the classroom and on the football field; Dr. James Andrews as the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year; Bill Lawton as the 2008 TAF Hall of Distinction Inductee and Tim Phinney as the winner of the 2008 Augie Cross Memorial Award.