May 1, 2008

By Ryan Shaw
www.siusalukis.com

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois University senior Kelly Gerlach was named to the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team.

Gerlach, a Sparta, Ill. native, boasts a 3.71 grade point average while working on her Masters in public administration. She posted a 77.3 average through 27 rounds ranking her first on the Saluki squad and third in the MVC.

Gerlach placed in the top ten in five tournaments this season, including a second-place finish at the Saluki Invitational. Her season-best round came on the second day of the Saluki Invitational where she fired a 68.

To be nominated as a scholar-athlete the women must maintain at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). They must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institutions and must have participated in at least 50 percent of her team's rounds or played at the Missouri Valley Championship.

In addition to the six first-team selections, an additional four student-athletes received honorable mention selection, by virtue of receiving a minimum number of votes. A total of 29 student-athletes were nominated for women's golf scholar-athlete honors. Golf sports information directors in the conference voted for the award.

2008 MVC Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete Team
#^Bari Erais, Bradley, Jr., 3.84 Accounting
#+Kelly Gerlach, SIU, Sr., 3.71 Public Administration (Grad School)
#Olivia Lansing, Drake, So., 3.52 Graphic Design/Advertising
#^Missy Linnens, Missouri State, Sr., 3.73 Marketing
#Stacey Miller, Illinois State, So., 3.76 Management
^Leigh Sutton, Creighton, Sr., 3.99 Psychology

Honorable Mention Team
#+Whitney Cox, Bradley, Sr., 3.54 Accounting
#Krista Hrdlicka, Wichita State, Jr., 3.51 Secondary Education
#Molly Schemm, Northern Iowa, So., 3.33 Movement & Exercise Science
^Rikki Sobel, Bradley, Sr., 3.58 Business Management & Administration

^2007 first-team scholar-athlete selection
+2007 honorable-mention scholar-athlete selection
#2008 all-conference pick