Wednesday, July 18, 2007

            Valparaiso University’s Betsy Rietema (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian H.S.) has been named the 2006-2007 Mid-Continent Conference Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year in a vote of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives.  The Mid-Con Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the most prestigious individual honor given by the league.

            A double major in chemistry and psychology, Rietema graduated summa cum laude with a 3.97 GPA. A first team Academic All-American in 2007 and third team selection in 2006, she was named Academic All-Mid-Con three times and was on the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence during her junior and senior seasons. 

            Rietema is the recipient of an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship and plans to attend medical school. She earned Presidential Academic Honors for Student-Athletes every year she was eligible and was named to the Dean’s List every semester. Rietema received the Lumina Award (given to students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences with a cumulative GPA of 3.6 or higher) and the Laurel Award (given to the graduating student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA).

           Rietema was named First Team All-Conference in 2006-07, was a second team pick in 2005-06 and was named to the All-Newcomer Team as a freshman in 2003-04. She ranks in the Top 10 in Valparaiso history in points (1,276), points per game (11.0), rebounds (594), steals (169), games played (116) and free throws made (341). She was twice named her team’s Most Offensive Player and was the team MVP as a senior.