April 13, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. (April 13, 2011) - Old Dominion's Trian Iliadis (Men's Basketball ) and Kristofer Hagg Men's Swimming and Diving) are among five student-athletes who excelled both athletically and academically have been honored by the Colonial Athletic Association as recipients of the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for the winter sports season. Thus far, three ODU student athletes have earned this honor. In the fall semester, Field Hockey's Amanda Bieber was named CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year for that sport.
The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 22 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
Joining Hagg and Iliadis wre Georgia State sophomore Cody Paulk in women's basketball, Towson senior Brooke Golden in women's swimming and diving and Hofstra senior Lou Ruggirello in wrestling. All five honorees had a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better.
Here is a brief biographical sketch on the award winners:
Trian Iliadis, Jr., Perth, Western Australia/Gwelp - Old Dominion (men's basketball)
A junior majoring in biochemistry, Iliadis was selected to the CAA men's basketball All-Academic first team for the second year in a row in 2010-11. He was also named first team Academic All-District III by CoSIDA. He is a Dean's List student who received the CRC Press Chemistry Achievement Award. On the court, Iliadis played in all 34 games for an ODU squad that went 27-7 and captured the CAA championship for the second year in a row. The Monarchs' guard averaged 6.0 points per game this season and led the team with 41 three-pointers. He scored a season-high 15 points in an impressive non-conference victory over Dayton and poured in 10 points in ODU's win over VCU in the CAA championship game.
Kristofer Hagg, Sr., Skovde, Sweden/Volvo - Old Dominion (men's swimming & diving)
A senior who is majoring in electrical engineering technology, Hagg is a three-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award and is a Dean's List student at ODU. In the pool, Hagg placed 16th in the 200 freestyle at the 2011 CAA Championship and swam the anchor leg on the Monarchs' fifth-place 800 free relay squad. He also finished 18th in the 500 freestyle and 19th in the 1650 freestyle at the conference meet. Hagg has twice earned All-CAA honors in the 800 free relay and was a member of the Monarchs' squad that set a school record in the event in 2009.
Cody Paulk, Soph., Gadsden, Ala./Gadsden City - Georgia State (women's basketball)
A sophomore majoring in chemistry, Paulk earned a spot on the CAA women's basketball All-Academic first team in 2010-11. She is a recipient of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award and is a two-time member of the Dean's List at Georgia State. On the court, Paulk led the Panthers and ranked second in the CAA with 56 blocked shots, which was the second-highest season total in school history. A starter in 25 of 31 contests in the Panthers' frontcourt, Paulk contributed 5.1 points per game and was Georgia State's third-leading rebounder with 5.0 rpg. Over the Panthers' final 13 games, Paulk averaged 7.5 ppg and grabbed six or more rebounds 12 times.
Brooke Golden, Sr., New Windsor, Md./Home Schooled - Towson (women's swimming & diving)
A senior majoring in nursing, Golden is a three-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Award recipient and was a nominee for prestigious NCAA Elite 88 Award. She earned honorable mention Scholar All-America accolades from the CSCAA as a freshman and a sophomore. In the pool, Golden was an NCAA qualifier in the 1650 freestyle after placing second at the CAA Championship with a time of 16:14.41. She was also second in the 500 freestyle and the 200 butterfly at the CAA Championship and was a member of Towson's 800 free and 400 medley relay teams that captured conference titles and set school records. Her efforts helped lead the Tigers to a fourth consecutive CAA championship.
Lou Ruggirello, Sr., Walden, N.Y./Valley Central - Hofstra (wrestling)
A senior majoring in finance, Ruggirello is a four-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Award recipient and a five-time member of the Hofstra Athletics Academic Honor Roll. He has been a member of NWCA All-Academic team for the past two years and was the winner of the CAA Scholar-Athlete award in wrestling in 2009. Ruggirello is a four-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America honors in 2011 after placing seventh at 133 pounds at the NCAA Championship. He is a four-time CAA champion at 133 pounds and compiled a career record of 131-26, including 72-7 in duals. This season, Ruggirello went 32-5 overall, including 17-1 in duals, and had 13 wins by fall.