April 19, 2007
FRISCO, Texas - For the second-straight year, UT Arlington's Maryann Abanobi has been selected as the Capital One Bank 2007 Southland Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year by the league's awards committee, the league office announced today. The student-athlete of the year is annually presented to the individual in each conference sport who achieves excellence in academics and athletics. Nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average to go along with superior athletics achievement.
Abanobi, a senior Bio-Chemistry major, has a 3.47 grade point average, she helped the Mavericks to the SLC regular-season and tournament titles, as the school finished with a record 24 wins. A two-time All-SLC selection, she averaged 10.8 points this past season.
Joining Abanobi on the first team are two players from A&M-Corpus Christi, Nicole Duncan and Jenesis Shaw. Shaw sports a 4.0 grade point average, while Duncan has a 3.7 GPA in Kinesiology. Also on the first-team is Lamar's LaToya Carson, who has a 3.60 GPA in exercise science and Texas State's Joyce Ekworomadu, who has a 3.22 GPA in marketing.
On the second team are three players from Southeastern Louisiana, Brooke Necaise, Jazmin Cain and Brenita Williams. Necaise has a 3.62 GPA in Elementary Education, Cain has a 3.39 GPA in Kinesiology and Williams sports a 3.13 GPA in marketing. Rounding out the second team is Nicholls State's Claire Berry, who registered a 3.667 GPA in Pre-Ed leadership and Central Arkansas' Allyson Sample, with a 3.53 GPA in Biology.
Included in Capital One's support of the Southland Conference Academic Awards Program is the F.L. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship presented by Capital One, and the Capital One Southland Conference All-Academic Teams, the Capital One Scholar-Athlete Award and the Capital One Commissioner's Honor Roll.
2007 Southland Conference Women's Basketball All-Academic Teams
First Team
Maryann Abanobi - UT Arlington -- 3.47 GPA -- Bio-Chemistry -- Sugar Land, Texas
Latoya Carson -- Lamar -- 3.60 GPA -- Exercise Science -- Long Beach, Miss.
Nicole Duncan -- A&M-Corpus Christi -- 3.7 GPA - Kinesiology -- Sugar Land, Texas
Joyce Ekworomadu -- Texas State -- 3.22 GPA -- Marketing -- Coppell, Texas
Jenesis Shaw -- A&M-Corpus Christi -- 4.0 GPA - Counseling -- Jenks, Okla.
Second Team
Clarie Berry -- Nicholls State -- 3.667 GPA -- Education Health -- Sulphur, La.
Brooke Necaise -- Southeastern La. -- 3.62 GPA -- Elementary Education -- Kiln, Miss.
Allyson Sample -- Central Arkansas -- 3.53 GPA -- Biology -- Cherokee Village, Ark.
Jazmin Cain -- Southeastern La. -- 3.39 GPA -- Kinesiology -- Mound Bayou, Miss.
Brenita Williams -- Southeastern La., 3.13 GPA, Marketing, Cedar Hill, Texas
