Dec. 19, 2002
Junior forward Attila Vendegh (Bratislava, Slovakia) was awarded on Thursday by the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with the inaugural CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for men's soccer.
Vendegh was one of only 12 players in the nation to earn first-team Academic All-America honors in 2002. The international business major is a three-time member of the Dean's List, carrying a 3.73 G.P.A. He has been spectacular on the field, earning CAA Player of the Year honors in 2001 and 2002 after winning the CAA Rookie of the Year award in 2000. A three-time member of the All-CAA first team and All-South Atlantic Region team, Vendegh is already ODU's all-time leading scorer with 108 career points and 46 career goals. In 2002, he topped the CAA and ranked among the nation's leaders with 16 goals and 39 points and also had a team-high seven assists. Vendegh led the Monarchs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991, which included a first-round victory over Richmond, their first ever NCAA win.
The conference will honor one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must meet the Academic All-America minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
Joining Vendegh with the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award in the fall sports were: Pius Stucki of Virginia Commonwealth University in men's cross country, Ali Henderson of the College of William & Mary in women's cross country, Kim Wagaman of the University of Delaware in field hockey, Tara Flint of the College of William & Mary in women's soccer and Stefanie Rewitz of Hofstra University in volleyball.
All six winners of the award were members of the All-CAA first team in their respective sports in 2002, and all have achieved grade point averages of 3.59 or higher.