
'Cats Post Record Number of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
7/1/2021 2:00:00 PM | Academic Services & Student Development
EVANSTON, Ill. – A school-record 121 Northwestern student-athletes earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition, the conference office announced Thursday.
All 19 varsity programs had at least one recipient of the honor for the second time ever, after doing so last year. This year's total of 121 Distinguished Scholars toppled the record of 106, also set during the 2019-20 academic year.
Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten Recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full-time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career. Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program.
Two programs led their respective Big Ten sports for the second season in a row: women's basketball (six) and fencing (12). Football (11), softball (10), women's lacrosse (14) all saw double-digit totals of honorees.
In addition to the distinguished scholar recognitions, Northwestern accumulated 200-plus Academic All-Big Ten awards for the 11th-straight year. The Wildcats finished the 2020-21 year with a school record of 349 student-athletes receiving the recognition for earning a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Below are Northwestern's 2020-21 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars:
Baseball (8)
Anthony Alepra Sr. Physics
Tommy D'Alise Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
David Dunn Sr. Economics
Shawn Goosenberg Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Leo Kaplan Gr. Industrial Engineering
Quinn Lavelle Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sam Lawrence Gr. Secondary Teaching
Tyler Uberstine Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Men's Basketball (2)
Roy Dixon III So. Undeclared
Ryan Young Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Women's Basketball (6)
Veronica Burton Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Jordan Hamilton Sr. Communication Studies
Brooke Pikiell Sr. Psychology
Lindsey Pulliam Sr. Communication Studies
Jess Sancataldo Jr. Radio/Television/Film
Lauryn Satterwhite Sr. Journalism
Cross Country (6)
Kayla Byrne So. Neuroscience
Amanda Davis Sr. Psychology / Computer Science
Hannah Hall Jr. Journalism / English
Rachel McCardell Sr. Computer Science
Sara McCoy Jr. English
Olivia Verbeke Jr. Human Development and Psychological Services
Fencing (12)
Justine Banbury Sr. Journalism
Isabelle Banin So. Journalism
Doreen Du Jr. Journalism
Julia Falinska Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sarah Filby Sr. Journalism
Ananya Gupta Jr. Economics
Natalie Kim Jr. Industrial Engineering
Elina Moon Jr. Neuroscience
Thea Nguyen So. Psychology
Dhruthi Reddy Jr. Biological Sciences
Julia Shalansky So. Social Policy
Abigail Swallow Jr. Social Policy
Field Hockey (5)
Mackenzie Keegan Sr. Human Communication Sciences
Ana Medina Garcia So. Undeclared
Maren Seidel Jr. Economics / International Studies
Sabrina Solomen Sr. Human Communication Sciences
Kaitlin Wood Sr. Communication Studies / Economics
Football (11)
Willy Boatman So. History / Legal Studies
Jesse Brown Gr. Engineering Design Innovation
Trey Finison So. Learning and Organizational Change
Sam Gerak Jr. Biological Sciences
Berkeley Holman Jr. Communication Studies
Charlie Kuhbander Sr. Communication Studies
Charlie Mangieri Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Charlie Schmidt So. Communication Studies / Entrepreneurship
Peter Snodgrass Jr. Economics
Nik Urban Gr. Sports Administration
Travis Whillock Gr. Sports Administration
Men's Golf (1)
David Nyfjäll Jr. Statistics
Women's Golf (5)
Irene Kim So. Communication Studies
Jane Lu Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Brooke Riley Gr. Sports Administration
Kelly Sim Jr. Psychology
Kelly Su Jr. Communication Science
Women's Lacrosse (14)
Maddy Balter So. Learning and Organizational Change
Hunter Chadwick So. Learning and Organizational Change
Carson Copeland Sr. Legal Studies
Kate Copeland Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Madison Doucette Jr. Manufacturing and Design Engineering
Brennan Dwyer Sr. Communication Studies
Lauren Gilbert Sr. Journalism
Jill Girardi Sr. Communication Studies
Megan Gordon Sr. Communication Studies
Emma Jaques Jr. Journalism
Lindsey McKone Gr. Data Science
Ally Palermo Sr. Communication Studies
Kate Paliotta Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Taylor Pinzone Sr. Communication Studies
Men's Soccer (7)
Richie Bennett Gr. Biological Sciences
Spencer Howard Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Bardia Kimiavi Gr. Learning and Organizational Change
Connor McCabe Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Eric Smits Sr. Undeclared
Drew Viscomi Sr. Human Development and Psychological Services
Julian Zighelboim Gr. Psychology
Women's Soccer (8)
Marianna Annest So. Undeclared
Nia Harris Sr. Journalism
Madi Kennel Sr. Economics / Entrepreneurship
Paige Miller So. Communication Studies
Kayleigh Stahlschmidt Sr. Biological Sciences
Regan Steigleder Sr. Earth and Planetary Sciences
Olivia Stone Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Mackenzie Wood Jr. Statistics / Communication Studies
Softball (10)
Lauren Caldrone Jr. Statistics
Nikki Cuchran Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Mac Dunlap Sr. Communication Studies
Rachel Lewis Sr. Communication Studies
Makenna Nelson So. Undeclared
Morgan Newport Gr. Sports Administration
Kendall Peterson So. Learning and Organizational Change
Skyler Shellmyer Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sammy Stanley Jr. Political Science
Danielle Williams Jr. Human Development in Context
Men's Swim and Dive (4)
Keegan Bundy Sr. Economics
Peter Lewczyk Sr. Economics
Manuel Martos Bacarizo Jr. Mechanical Engineering
Henry Schirmer So. Environmental Engineering
Women's Swim and Dive (7)
Labonita Ghose Jr. Neuroscience
Markie Hopkins So. Undeclared
Ilektra Lebl Sr. Psychology
Shaunmei Lim Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Danielle Nowaski So. Undeclared
Calypso Sheridan Sr. Computer Science
Maddie Smith Sr. Statistics
Men's Tennis (4)
Chris Ephron Gr. Post Baccalaureate
AJ Joshi Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Trice Pickens Jr. Biological Sciences
Natan Spear So. Chemical Engineering
Women's Tennis (4)
Hannah McColgan Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Inci Ogut Sr. Communication Studies
Caroline Pozo Sr. Communication Studies
Vanessa Streng Jr. Communication Studies
Women's Volleyball (4)
Charlotte Cronister So. Journalism
Nia Robinson Sr. Journalism
Ivey Whalen Sr. Journalism / Sociology
Wrestling (4)
Lucas Davison Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Troy Fisher So. Undeclared
Jack Heyob Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Jack Tolin Sr. Political Science
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2019-20 academic year.
All 19 varsity programs had at least one recipient of the honor for the second time ever, after doing so last year. This year's total of 121 Distinguished Scholars toppled the record of 106, also set during the 2019-20 academic year.
Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten Recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full-time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career. Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program.
Two programs led their respective Big Ten sports for the second season in a row: women's basketball (six) and fencing (12). Football (11), softball (10), women's lacrosse (14) all saw double-digit totals of honorees.
In addition to the distinguished scholar recognitions, Northwestern accumulated 200-plus Academic All-Big Ten awards for the 11th-straight year. The Wildcats finished the 2020-21 year with a school record of 349 student-athletes receiving the recognition for earning a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Below are Northwestern's 2020-21 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars:
Baseball (8)
Anthony Alepra Sr. Physics
Tommy D'Alise Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
David Dunn Sr. Economics
Shawn Goosenberg Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Leo Kaplan Gr. Industrial Engineering
Quinn Lavelle Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sam Lawrence Gr. Secondary Teaching
Tyler Uberstine Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Men's Basketball (2)
Roy Dixon III So. Undeclared
Ryan Young Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Women's Basketball (6)
Veronica Burton Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Jordan Hamilton Sr. Communication Studies
Brooke Pikiell Sr. Psychology
Lindsey Pulliam Sr. Communication Studies
Jess Sancataldo Jr. Radio/Television/Film
Lauryn Satterwhite Sr. Journalism
Cross Country (6)
Kayla Byrne So. Neuroscience
Amanda Davis Sr. Psychology / Computer Science
Hannah Hall Jr. Journalism / English
Rachel McCardell Sr. Computer Science
Sara McCoy Jr. English
Olivia Verbeke Jr. Human Development and Psychological Services
Fencing (12)
Justine Banbury Sr. Journalism
Isabelle Banin So. Journalism
Doreen Du Jr. Journalism
Julia Falinska Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sarah Filby Sr. Journalism
Ananya Gupta Jr. Economics
Natalie Kim Jr. Industrial Engineering
Elina Moon Jr. Neuroscience
Thea Nguyen So. Psychology
Dhruthi Reddy Jr. Biological Sciences
Julia Shalansky So. Social Policy
Abigail Swallow Jr. Social Policy
Field Hockey (5)
Mackenzie Keegan Sr. Human Communication Sciences
Ana Medina Garcia So. Undeclared
Maren Seidel Jr. Economics / International Studies
Sabrina Solomen Sr. Human Communication Sciences
Kaitlin Wood Sr. Communication Studies / Economics
Football (11)
Willy Boatman So. History / Legal Studies
Jesse Brown Gr. Engineering Design Innovation
Trey Finison So. Learning and Organizational Change
Sam Gerak Jr. Biological Sciences
Berkeley Holman Jr. Communication Studies
Charlie Kuhbander Sr. Communication Studies
Charlie Mangieri Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Charlie Schmidt So. Communication Studies / Entrepreneurship
Peter Snodgrass Jr. Economics
Nik Urban Gr. Sports Administration
Travis Whillock Gr. Sports Administration
Men's Golf (1)
David Nyfjäll Jr. Statistics
Women's Golf (5)
Irene Kim So. Communication Studies
Jane Lu Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Brooke Riley Gr. Sports Administration
Kelly Sim Jr. Psychology
Kelly Su Jr. Communication Science
Women's Lacrosse (14)
Maddy Balter So. Learning and Organizational Change
Hunter Chadwick So. Learning and Organizational Change
Carson Copeland Sr. Legal Studies
Kate Copeland Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Madison Doucette Jr. Manufacturing and Design Engineering
Brennan Dwyer Sr. Communication Studies
Lauren Gilbert Sr. Journalism
Jill Girardi Sr. Communication Studies
Megan Gordon Sr. Communication Studies
Emma Jaques Jr. Journalism
Lindsey McKone Gr. Data Science
Ally Palermo Sr. Communication Studies
Kate Paliotta Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Taylor Pinzone Sr. Communication Studies
Men's Soccer (7)
Richie Bennett Gr. Biological Sciences
Spencer Howard Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Bardia Kimiavi Gr. Learning and Organizational Change
Connor McCabe Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Eric Smits Sr. Undeclared
Drew Viscomi Sr. Human Development and Psychological Services
Julian Zighelboim Gr. Psychology
Women's Soccer (8)
Marianna Annest So. Undeclared
Nia Harris Sr. Journalism
Madi Kennel Sr. Economics / Entrepreneurship
Paige Miller So. Communication Studies
Kayleigh Stahlschmidt Sr. Biological Sciences
Regan Steigleder Sr. Earth and Planetary Sciences
Olivia Stone Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Mackenzie Wood Jr. Statistics / Communication Studies
Softball (10)
Lauren Caldrone Jr. Statistics
Nikki Cuchran Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Mac Dunlap Sr. Communication Studies
Rachel Lewis Sr. Communication Studies
Makenna Nelson So. Undeclared
Morgan Newport Gr. Sports Administration
Kendall Peterson So. Learning and Organizational Change
Skyler Shellmyer Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Sammy Stanley Jr. Political Science
Danielle Williams Jr. Human Development in Context
Men's Swim and Dive (4)
Keegan Bundy Sr. Economics
Peter Lewczyk Sr. Economics
Manuel Martos Bacarizo Jr. Mechanical Engineering
Henry Schirmer So. Environmental Engineering
Women's Swim and Dive (7)
Labonita Ghose Jr. Neuroscience
Markie Hopkins So. Undeclared
Ilektra Lebl Sr. Psychology
Shaunmei Lim Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Danielle Nowaski So. Undeclared
Calypso Sheridan Sr. Computer Science
Maddie Smith Sr. Statistics
Men's Tennis (4)
Chris Ephron Gr. Post Baccalaureate
AJ Joshi Sr. Learning and Organizational Change
Trice Pickens Jr. Biological Sciences
Natan Spear So. Chemical Engineering
Women's Tennis (4)
Hannah McColgan Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Inci Ogut Sr. Communication Studies
Caroline Pozo Sr. Communication Studies
Vanessa Streng Jr. Communication Studies
Women's Volleyball (4)
Charlotte Cronister So. Journalism
Nia Robinson Sr. Journalism
Ivey Whalen Sr. Journalism / Sociology
Wrestling (4)
Lucas Davison Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Troy Fisher So. Undeclared
Jack Heyob Jr. Learning and Organizational Change
Jack Tolin Sr. Political Science
Note: Recipients in bold received special recognition for posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2019-20 academic year.
Football - Western Illinois Cinematic Recap (9/5/25)
Monday, September 08
Football - Week 3 Monday Press Conference (9/8/25)
Monday, September 08
Field Hockey - 'Cats Record Fourth Straight Shutout, Blank No. 8 Boston College (9/7/25)
Monday, September 08
Men's Soccer - ‘Cats Strike Late At Xavier, 1-0 (9/6/2025)
Sunday, September 07