Ten Valparaiso University student-athletes received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards as selected by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. The award recognizes minority undergraduate students who have made achieving both academically and athletically a winning combination.

To be eligible for the honor, students have to be an intercollegiate athlete, maintain at least a 3.2 grade point average, and be active on their campus and in the community.

Earning the Arthur Ashe Jr. Awards are:

Amanda Cortese (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates H.S.) and Natalie Cortese (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates H.S.) earned the honors in bowling.  Amanda is a sports media major while Natalie is a graphic design major.

Kevin DeHerrera (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.), Jose Gaspar (Sao Paulo, Brazil/CEAD H.S.), and Siddarth Mehta (South Bend, Ind./Clay H.S.) were all represented in men’s tennis.  DeHerrera is a civil engineering major while Gaspar was a master’s student in sports administration.  Mehta is a management major.

Toshko Ganzorigt (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/Orcholon H.S.) was named to the men’s swimming team.    The senior double majored in accounting and finance.

Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley H.S.) represented Valpo on the men’s track and field team as a biology major while Ashley Varner (South Bend, Ind./Washington H.S.), a psychology major, was named to the women’s basketball team.

Wei Ming Wong (Hong Kong/Hong Kong International H.S.) and Sammy Olson (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) represented men’s and women’s soccer respectively.  Wong is an international business and finance double major while Olson is majoring in nursing and Spanish.