June 29, 2007

Garden City, N.Y. - Senior guard Betty Mendieta and junior forward Gianna Smith were each recognized as 2007 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars as announced in the April 5 issue of Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

The award honors minority student-athletes, in all sports, that excel on the playing field and in the classroom. Mendieta and Smith were both named as Fourth Team selections.

This is the third recognition for Mendieta, who graduated in May 2007 with a 3.39 cumulative grade point average. The physical education major averaged 6.0 points per game and a team-high 3.6 assists per game during her senior year.

Smith, a communications major and a first-time selection, boasted a 3.41 overall GPA. She led the Panthers (16-14) with 16.6 ppg and 7.1 rpg, shooting 52.4 percent from the field with 40 steals. She was named All-Met Division II Female Player of the Year and was a first-team All-ECC selection.

Of the 81 women selected on the five teams for women's basketball, Mendieta and Smith, along with Dowling College's Teelah Grimes, were the only athletes representing the East Coast Conference.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education established the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Awards to honor undergraduate students of color who have made achieving both academically and athletically a winning combination. To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport; maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2; and be active on their campuses or in their communities.