July 17, 2002

NIU WOMEN'S GOLFERS MAPLEY AND WARRICK REPEAT ON NGCA ALL-AMERICAN SCHOLAR TEAM
DeKALB - Last season Northern Illinois University women's golfers Amanda Mapley (Davenport, IA / Bettendorf) and Janelle Warrick (Neenah, WI) ended the Huskies' four-year drought on the National Golf Coaches Association's All-American Scholar Golf Team. The junior duo made sure that NIU wouldn't endure another dry spell as they collected their second straight award as part of the NGCA's 2001-02 squad.

One of the toughest academic honors to achieve, the NGCA requires student-athletes to have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better while playing in 66 percent of the school's regularly schedule competitions. Eligible golfers must also have achieved at least sophomore standing and have attended their school for a full academic year.

"This is an elite award and we have been very fortunate over the years to have several student-athletes receive this honor, " NIU head coach Pam Tyska said. "The NGCA has worked hard to make this the most selective academic award for men or women in the college athletics. "

The Huskie duo were two of 15 Mid-American Conference golfers selected as the league ranked fourth in the national. Leading the way was the Big Ten Conference with 21 representative, followed by the Big Twelve Conference's 19 recipients while the Southeastern Conference rounded out the top three with 17 honors. NIU's pair of accolades tied Kent State University for third in the league while Ohio University was tops with four golfers, followed by Bowling Green State University at three.

Individually Mapley ranked 15th out of the 155 golfers honored, and second in the conference, with her 3.92 GPA in accountancy. Amongst the league representatives, Warrick's 3.80 GPA in chemistry and biochemistry rates her sixth among her Mid-Am peers.

"To win the award for a second year in a row shows how much hard work Amanda and Janelle have put in," Tyska added. "As you get closer to that senior year it's harder to keep your grade point average up, but they've been able to balance the demands in the classroom with their athletic competition. I look forward to nominating them next year."

On the course Mapley continued her improvement as she lowered her average by half a stroke from the 2000-01 campaign to post a norm of 85.5 strokes per round, which ranked fourth on the squad. Her best outing of the season came at the Lady Northern Invitational in which she posted her lowest round of the year, an 80 during the second loop, en route to a three-day 244.

While the numbers in the classroom favored Mapley by a tenth of a point, Warrick turned the tables on the course where she tallied a season average of 85.4. In the final event of the fall season, the Wisconsin native notched the best NIU finish of the year as she placed second in the Huskie Classic. Paced by a career-best 75 in the opening round, the second best loop of the year, Warrick tied her two-day low with a 164.

With their second-straight appointment to the NGCA squad, Mapley and Warrick become only the fourth and fifth Huskies to collected multiple awards. Erin Belling, Cortney Conway and Sarah Harlow each won back-to-back awards during the 1996-97 seasons.

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-Copy by Michael Smoose