Seventy-three percent of scholarship student-athletes who enrolled at Ohio University in 1997-98 as freshmen earned undergraduate degrees, according to new graduation rate data released Thursday by the Ohio Athletics Department. The number is the highest in eight years.
This sort of news makes all of us at Ohio Athletics very proud
said Jennifer Stiles, assistant athletics director for compliance and student services.
The graduation rate is determined by the number of students who graduate within six years of enrollment. The data applies to students who accept athletic aid in the fall quarter of their first year of college.
Currently, Ohio University's athletes hold a GPA of 2.85. In the 2004 winter quarter, 77 student-athletes made the dean's list.
Soccer exhibition season to end with alumni game
After finishing the spring exhibition season 4-2-3, the Ohio soccer team finalizes its spring season with its first-ever alumni game.
The team's returning players take on a group of former players in a game at Chessa Field this weekend.
Last weekend, the Bobcats played Ohio State and Dayton Soccer Academy's Under-17 team to 0-0 ties and lost to the DSA Under-18 team 1-0.
Start time for the alumni game is 3 p.m. Saturday.
Women's basketball inks Bulgaria native
Athens, Ohio, is a long way from Wyoming and an even longer way from Varna, Bulgaria, but Marina Andonova will not be walking on totally unfamiliar ground next season.
Andonova, a 6-foot-2-inch forward from Bulgaria, signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Ohio women's basketball team, Head Coach Lynn Bria announced yesterday. Andonova rejoins Gary Becker, a Bobcat assistant and former head coach at Andonova's Casper College in Wyoming. She also meets up again with Elizabeth Brown, who came to Ohio last season with Becker.
Andonova's height will immediately put her in the mix for playing time on Bria's team. Of Ohio's returning letter winners, only forward Megan Oriold is taller than 6 feet.
Andonova could provide a defensive spark for an Ohio team that was buried at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference in blocked shots last season. Andonova led Casper College with 48 blocks, four more than Ohio registered as a team in 2003-2004.
Offensively, Andonova averaged 8.2 points, and 1.5 assists to complement 4.4 rebounds per game.
Banquet to honor seniors
Ohio University's senior student-athletes will be honored on May 17 at the Green and White Club's annual banquet. Anthony Carrizales, a four-year letterwinner on the wrestling team, and Laura Hageman, a four-year letterwinner in volleyball, will speak at the banquet.
The banquet will be held at Nelson Commons on the South Green. Dinner at 7 p.m. will follow a reception at 6 p.m.
--T.J. Lasita contributed to this story. 17
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