BATON ROUGE – LSU recognized some of the school’s outstanding academic achievements by its student-athletes during the 2009 calendar year on Sunday night at the annual Tiger Athletic Foundation Academic Excellence Gala, which was held in the Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium
LSU honored a total of 167 student-athletes for achievement in the classroom during the 2009 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.
A total of 83 LSU student-athletes earned their degree in 2009. LSU student-athletes also spent a combined 2,300 hours of community service in the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas.
“The academic gala is one of the best events on campus each year,” LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said. “Our student-athletes strive for excellence in all they do and to honor their achievements in the classroom is tremendously important. I am very proud of the academic accomplishments of our student-athletes as they prepare themselves for life.”
Individually, Laust Helmig of the men’s swimming and diving team and Lauren DeGirolamo of the volleyball team were named the 2009 TAF Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Helmig, a junior from Denmark, maintains a 4.0 grade point average in economics. He’s a four-time member of the Chancellor’s List and has twice been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and to the Director’s Cup for Academic Excellence.
DeGirolamo graduated with honors in the spring of 2009 with a 3.925 grade point average in math/secondary education. She currently has a 4.0 grade point average in graduate school. DeGirolamo was a three-time member of the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team as well as a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Three student-athletes were honored with the Wally Pontiff, Jr., Academic Excellence Award. That list included Ken Ehrhardt, Jr. (track and field), 3.955 gpa in biological sciences; David Impastato (football), 3.965 gpa in biological sciences and Helmig.
Seven student-athletes were honored for with the Bengal Belles Academic Excellence Award, which is a post-graduate award given to those students who earned their degree before exhausting their athletic eligibility. That list included: Andrea Linton (track and field), Marina Skender (volleyball), Staten Spencer (women’s tennis), Brian Leveille (men’s golf), Alex Farrer (men’s basketball), DeGirolamo (volleyball) and Clare-Kearney (gymnastics).
Mo Isom of the women’s soccer team was named the recipient of the Eye of the Tiger Award, which goes annually to the student-athlete who overcomes adversity in their life to succeed both in the classroom and in competition.
For the second-straight year, the LSU women’s soccer team was honored as the recipient of the Tiger Cup, which goes to the team that combined to be the most productive in the areas of on-field success, academic accomplishment and community service participation.
The recipient of the Tiger Cup is determined by combining a team’s final conference and national ranking on the field with its cumulative grade-point average and community service hours accumulated off the field during the previous academic year. The soccer team was also the Tiger Cup recipient in 2008.
Not only did the soccer team finish the 2009 season with a No. 2 finish in the overall SEC standings and a No. 14 national ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll, but it also finished the year with nearly a 3.0 team GPA and approximately 700 hours of community service, which ranks No. 1 among all men’s and women’s athletic programs at LSU.
Individually, Louis Coleman of the baseball team and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney of the gymnastics team were named the 2009 TAF Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Coleman capped his career at LSU by leading the Tigers to the 2009 National Championship in baseball. The 2009 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Coleman posted a 14-2 record with a 2.93 ERA as a senior. He finished his LSU career ranked No. 8 in school history in victories (29) and No. 9 in strikeouts (303).
Clare-Kearney became the first LSU gymnast to capture two national titles as she won the NCAA Vault Championship and the NCAA Floor Championship in 2009. A first team All-America in 2009, Clare-Kearney was named the NCAA Central Regional Gymnast of the Year as well as being one of eight finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
E. Robert “Bobby” Theriot was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Theriot, who was a three-year letterwinner for the LSU baseball team, attended LSU on a combined baseball and academic scholarship. He was a member of LSU’s 1961 SEC Championship baseball team and has since given back the institution by funding professorships, scholarships, and assisted with the building of the Business School, the Lod Cook Hotel, and the baseball locker room at the new Alex Box Stadium.
Dr. Eric Geist was named the recipient of the Augie Cross Memorial Award and E.R. “Bo” Campbell inducted into the TAF Hall of Distinction. Campbell is a 1963 graduate of LSU and currently serves on the Tiger Athletic Foundation Executive Committee. Geist, a member of the TAF Board of Directors, is responsible for establishing a very successful TAF chapter in the Monroe area.