Lady'Backs earn academic honors

FAYETTEVILLE — Gena Johnson and Stacy Lewis were named National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Recipients while Ashley Medders earned selection to the 2005 Southeastern Conference Freshman Academic Honor Roll recently. Johnson and Lewis became just the third andfourth Lady’Backs, respectively, honored by the coaches’ association with academic honor joining MacKenzie Cato (1997) and Jennifer Norlien (2004). "This is a very prestigious honor," said head coach Kelley Hester. "Both of these young women are role models on and off the golf course. They have embraced the phrase student-athlete and helped define the standard for future golfers at Arkansas." A total of 199 collegiate golfers were recognized for academics by the coaches association. The criteria for selection includes a 3.50 grade point average and participation in at least 66% of the team’s total competitive rounds. Johnson, a senior marketing major, graduated this spring while leading Arkansas to the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship appearance in Sunriver, Ore. Lewis, a redshirt freshman, majoring in business at Arkansas, won the 2005 SEC Individual title and became the Lady’Backs’ first first-team selection while also capturing SEC Freshman of the Year honors. Lewis went on to earn NGCA All-America honors as well. The SEC Freshmen Academic Honor Roll was announced in late July with 469 freshman in the league honored. Student-athletes must have at least a 3.2 GPA and be a true freshman to be considered. Medders is a history major at Arkansas. She competed in three events for the Lady’Backs last year.