Two from IWU Earn NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships

June 27, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Two Illinois Wesleyan athletes who participated in spring sports are among the 58 student-athletes nationally to be awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarships.

Titan men’s golfer Drew Kepple (Tremont, Ill., HS) and women’s golfer Taylor Paskell (Phoenix, Ariz., Desert Vista HS) were among the 13 men and 10 women chosen from Division III schools for the scholarships.

Kepple, who graduated in May with a 3.90 grade-point average as a biology major, was elected to the first team of the men's at-large all-District V college division academic squad and was one of 43 Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars for Division III.
This season he had a 78.4 stroke average with five top 20 finishes in 14 rounds and had a two-day 163 at the NCAA Division III national tournament. He was the medalist (first place) in the eight-team Manchester Fall Classic and tied for 15th in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tourney. He earned four letters, was the captain for this year's team that played in the school's first NCAA Division III national tourney and had a 77.2 average in 57 career rounds.

Paskell has a 3.81 grade-point average as a psychology major and has completed her academic work as part of a 3-2 program at IWU. She will attend Washington U. in St. Louis for the next two years to complete a program in occupational therapy.
Paskell was on the second team of the National Golf Coaches Association’s Division III All-American squad, tied for 23rd in the 2007 NCAA Division III women's golf championships and was the Titans' low scorer for the season with a 79.9 average. She was also on the 10-player NGCA all-Central Region team and has been an NGCA all-scholar team member for two seasons.

Click here for complete NCAA press release.

The NCAA awards postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 male and 29 female student-athletes who participated in spring sports, which include baseball, men's and women's golf, men's lacrosse, women's rowing, softball, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's outdoor track and field.
In addition to the spring sport honorees, the NCAA awards 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and winter sports in which the NCAA conducts championships or participates in as an emerging sport, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated.
The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.
Nominations are made by each school’s faculty athletics representatives and selections are made three times each academic year. Candidates are screened by seven regional selection committees and the award recipients are selected by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.

CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206