WIU student-athletes rack up academic honors from Ohio Valley Conference

MACOMB, Ill. — Three women’s sports programs at Western Illinois University were recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference with Team Academic Achievement awards.

The awards are presented annually in each OVC-sponsored sport to the member institution’s team with the greatest percentage of its eligible student-athletes who achieved a 3.25 grade point average or higher.

In total, 11 different OVC schools garnered at least one team award. Western Illinois University finished with three — women’s basketball, women’s golf and women’s tennis.

The Women’s College Basketball Association recently announced the WIU women’s basketball program posted the second-highest GPA in Division I women’s basketball. The Western Illinois women’s tennis team earned International Tennis Association All-Academic Team honors, and women’s golf had five student-athletes named Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars.

Additionally, WIU had 14 student-athletes receive the OVC Academic Medal of Honor.

The medal is given annually to the student-athletes who achieve the highest grade point average in a conference-sponsored sport. Every recipient for the 2023-24 academic year carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

WIU women’s cross country runner and track and field athlete Hannah Steinmeyer was a dual recipient, while the WIU women’s basketball program led the way with four recipients — Addi Brownfield, Kennedy Flanagan, Carla Flores and Ainsley Holthaus.

Other honorees included Aubrey Brumbaugh and Paige Grice from the women’s tennis program, Charity Dundas and Kennedy Bauer from the women’s volleyball program, Grant Palmer in baseball, Logan Lommel in men’s cross country, Olivia McCrysal in women’s golf and Samantha Claesson in women’s soccer.