November 7, 2000 - by Seminoles.com

171 Florida State Student-Athletes Honored At Golden Torch Gala

10th annual banquet honors top student-athletes at Florida State.

Nov. 7, 2000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — –
One hundred and seventy one Florida State University student-athletes were honored Monday night at the 10th annual Golden Torch Gala presented by the Seminole Boosters and the Athletic Department. Awards were presented to the Seminole men and women’s teams with the highest cumulative GPA and the student-athletes on each team with the highest individual GPA.

For the fourth year in a row, the Florida State University women’s tennis team won the women’s Golden Torch Award with a grade point average of 3.761. Women’s tennis coach Lisa Gregory is in her fifth season at Florida State. Gregory has led the team to four consecutive Golden Torch Awards and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

The men’s cross country team won the Golden Torch Award for men’s sports. The team had a grade point average of 3.079 during the 1999-2000 academic year. Bob Braman is in his first season as the team’s head coach.

Three members of the women’s tennis team, Kia Asberg, Alida Gallovits and Alison Weber and Kerry Miano of the women’s track and field team shared the overall female Golden Torch Award. All four student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 1999-2000 season. Miano earned the award for the second consecutive year.

Jonathan Kaplan of the men’s swimming team won the overall male Golden Torch Award. He earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in sports management last year.

The individual Golden Torch Award winners from each sport were: Nickolas Whidden (baseball, hospitality administration), Vanessa Fuchs (women’s basketball, communication), Oliver Simmons (men’s basketball, athletic administration), Erin McGee (women’s cross country, biology), Ryan Hicks (men’s cross country, computer science), Jarad Moon (football, advertising), Louise Wright (women’s golf, marketing/finance/multinational business), Jason Lopez (men’s golf, hospitality administration), Jennifer Garcia (women’s soccer, biology), Elizabeth Wade (softball, nutrition and fitness), Kristan Keelan (women’s swimming and diving, business), Jonathan Kaplan (men’s swimming and diving, sports management), Kia Asberg (women’s tennis, psychology), Alida Gallovits (women’s tennis, business), Alison Weber (women’s tennis, public relations), Elliott Elias (men’s tennis, psychology), Kerry Miano (women’s track and field, art education), Christian Bland (men’s track and field, advertising) and Aisha Thornton (volleyball, management information systems).

A near school-record 171 student-athletes who were named to the 1999-2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll also earned mention at the banquet. The ACC Honor Roll recognizes outstanding performance in the classroom. In order to be included on the ACC Honor Roll, now in its 44th year, student-athletes must maintain a 3.0 grade point average for the entire academic year.

Florida State Director of Athletics Dave Hart, Jr., Assistant Director of Athletics for Academic Support, Mark Meleney, Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Dianne Montgomery, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Sandra Rackley and Charles W. Ehrhardt, Chairman of the Athletic Board were all in attendance to honor Florida State’s student-athletes. The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. T.K. Wetherell, a former Seminole football player and current President of Tallahassee Community College. The award winners will be honored during halftime of a men’s basketball game this season.