UCR Athletics Has 139 Student-Athletes Named to the 2019 Big West Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll
3/24/2020 1:42:00 PM | General, Men's Cross Country, Men's Track and Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball
Jannon Otto and Heinrich Van Niekerk Named UCR Scholar-Athletes of the Year
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced its complete 2019 Commissioner's Honor Roll list for each of the nine institutions across all 18 conference-sponsored sports. Student-athletes were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll after achieving an institutional cumulative GPA in one of the following three categories: Honor Roll (3.00-3.20), With Honors (3.21-3.50) and Highest Honors (3.51-4.00).Â
Student-athletes named to the honor roll were on a team roster in a Big West Conference sport at the conclusion of the previous season of competition and were eligible for competition.
Among the 1,381 recipients, 139 Highlanders were represented on the Commissioner's Honor Roll with 40 Highlanders receivingHighest Honors, 57 earning With Honors status, and 42 distinguished as Honor Roll recipients.
"I am incredibly proud of our student-athletes who have achieved this honor," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Tamica Smith Jones. "They are outstanding representatives of our University. Their ability to balance their work in the classroom with the demands placed on them as Division I athletes and still achieve such high academic honors is not easy. They manage those responsibilities quite well and deserve this recognition."Â
In addition to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, two Highlanders were named Scholar-Athletes of the Year for UCR: Jannon Otto(Women's Basketball) and Heinrich Van Niekerk (Men's Cross Country and Track and Field). Each received the honors for their representation of UC Riverside on the basketball court and track, respectively, as well as their excellent performance in the classroom.
Speaking to Otto's and Van Niekerk's honors, their head coaches praised their ability to excel in all areas during their time as student-athletes at UCR.Â
"I am extremely proud of Jannon Otto," stated Women's Basketball head coach, Seyram Bell. "She has been a pleasure to coach and exemplifies what excellence looks like in Division I student-athlete. Her competitive and ambitious spirit enhanceher ability to excel in the classroom and on the court. As one of our team leaders, she has shown by example that you can be both an elite athlete and an outstanding student. If Jannon is not in the gym refining her game, she is walking around with a book, articles and her laptop completing an assignment. She is also an advocate for Type 1 Diabetes."
Director of Track & Field, Nate Browne, shared similar sentiments about Van Niekerk.Â
"From the first time Coach (Rob) Hansen started having conversations with Heinrich about coming to UCR, we knew he was the kind of student-athlete that could one day be selected for this award," stated Browne. "Heinrich is driven by a passion for plant biology that he picked up from his family's nursery in South Africa. On the athletic side he has a "nose" for finish lines. He and Coach Hansen together are a great combination that led to some great championship performances. We have been elevated as a team by Heinrich's presence and are thankful for all he has contributed to our program."
A complete list of all UCR student-athletes can be found below:
UC RIVERSIDE
Highest Honors (3.51-4.00)
Austin Dai - Men's Cross Country
Yihao He - Men's Golf
Jason Roberts - Men's Golf
Andrew Spilman - Men's Golf
Michael Wong - Men's Golf
Ivan Cano - Men's Soccer
Freymar Omarsson - Men's Soccer
Leonardo Targia - Men's Soccer
Jack Frimodig - Men's XC/Track & Field
James Sever - Men's XC/Track & Field
Heinrich Van Niekerk - Men's XC/Track & Field
Samantha Demyon - Softball
Malou Thiebaut De Kergret - Women's Basketball
Jannon Otto - Women's Basketball
Hana Furuichi - Women's Golf
Ping Huang - Women's Golf
Jakeishya Le - Women's Golf
Anne Bailey - Women's Soccer
Alyssa Carranza - Women's Soccer
Elisabeth Chua - Women's Soccer
Danisia Ellin - Women's Soccer
Kaitlyn Fujimori - Women's Soccer
Leigh Polson - Women's Soccer
Kieren Ritter - Women's Soccer
Amanda Roy - Women's Soccer
Alexa Smith - Women's Soccer
Paige Smith - Women's Soccer
Jessica Tamayo - Women's Soccer
Kyra Taylor - Women's Soccer
Lindsey Gelinas - Women's Tennis
Irini Saad - Women's Track & Field
Kiley Atwood - Women's XC/Track & Field
Erin Beck - Women's XC/Track & Field
Harriet Bush - Women's XC/Track & Field
Haley Cabrera - Women's XC/Track & Field
Kathryn Hammar - Women's XC/Track & Field
Samantha Poliakon - Women's XC/Track & Field
Renata Marins Motta Bath - Women's Volleyball
Amarachi Osuji - Women's Volleyball
Yuliya Ushakova - Women's Volleyball
With Honors (3.20-3.50)
Travis Bohall - Baseball
Connor Cannon - Baseball
Ari Gerber - Baseball
Shamus Lyons - Baseball
Jared Noonan - Baseball
Dylan Orick - Baseball
Abel Ramos - Men's Cross Country
Carlos Rivera - Men's Cross Country
Matthew Huo - Men's Golf
Taiga Iwasa - Men's Golf
David Cabral - Men's Soccer
Federico Ucar Cavelli - Men's Soccer
Joao Portes Godoy Lobato Esteves - Men's Soccer
Caio Guazzelli - Men's Soccer
Ronaldo Lomeli - Men's Soccer
Matthew Mitiku - Men's Soccer
Angel Noriega - Men's Soccer
Carlos Osorio - Men's Soccer
Jose Ponce - Men's Soccer
Nabil Abdallah - Men's Tennis
Gilbert Chung - Men's Tennis
Anderson Ju - Men's Tennis
Andreas Whelan Merediz - Men's Tennis
Erik Cisneros - Men's Track & Field
Jordan Davis - Men's Track & Field
John Ober - Men's Track & Field
Matthew Reyes - Men's Track & Field
Arman Irani - Men's XC/Track & Field
Ethan Samuels - Men's XC/Track & Field
Alberto Venegas - Men's XC/Track & Field
Jacy Boles - Softball
Melanie Olmos - Softball
Moana Pisia - Softball
Gabriella Rivera - Women's Cross Country
Samantha Velazquez - Women's Cross Country
Hailey White - Women's Golf
Lucy Alcala - Women's Soccer
Miah Conde - Women's Soccer
Deepika Kooner - Women's Soccer
Wan Chen (Isabella) Lee - Women's Soccer
Brianna Saldana - Women's Soccer
Akari Shimizu - Women's Soccer
Alexis Vera - Women's Soccer
Katie Wong - Women's Soccer
Nicole Hitomi - Women's Tennis
Sara Khattab - Women's Tennis
Hanh Pham - Women's Tennis
Delaney Harris - Women's Track & Field
Cedrinae Mitchell - Women's Track & Field
Kenady Jackson - Women's XC/Track & Field
Callie Lawson-Freeman - Women's XC/Track & Field
Suset Maldonado - Women's XC/Track & Field
Alison Soto - Women's XC/Track & Field
Jessica Blakeman - Women's Volleyball
Kathleen Lowry - Women's Volleyball
Isabella Scarlett - Women's Volleyball
Honor Roll (3.00-3.20)
Skyler De Los Reyes - Baseball
Adrian Garcia - Baseball
Jordan Howlett - Baseball
Hayden Petrovick - Baseball
Jacob Shanks - Baseball
Dragan Elkaz - Men's Basketball
Darryl McDonald - Men's Basketball
Zachary Watson - Men's Basketball
Dylan Lennon - Men's Cross Country
Borna Talle - Men's Golf
Issa Badawiya - Men's Soccer
Seth Burum - Men's Soccer
Hugo Magana - Men's Soccer
Maximilian Cohen - Men's Tennis
Ryan Ayale - Men's Track & Field
Fabian Bodden - Men's Track & Field
Ryan Locano - Men's Track & Field
Ethan Van Setten - Men's Track & Field
Blake Starbuck - Men's XC/Track & Field
Megan Casper - Softball
Danielle Ortega - Softball
Emily Ramelot - Softball
Daphne Gnago - Women's Basketball
Skyler Lewis - Women's Basketball
Victoria Ervin - Women's Cross Country
Shanya Dhindsa - Women's Soccer
Caela Kaio - Women's Soccer
Neyda Martinez - Women's Soccer
Sienna Zabroski - Women's Soccer
Tara Eaton - Women's Volleyball
Kayla Taitt - Women's Volleyball
Tia Elpusan - Women's Tennis
Mahli Silpachai - Women's Tennis
Dilini Amarasekara - Women's Track & Field
Cydney Branch - Women's Track & FieldÂ
Kate Chanon - Women's Track & Field
Purnima Gunarathna - Women's Track & Field
Leslie Rivera - Women's XC/Track & Field
Alonna Johnson - Women's XC/Track & Field
Emily Sanchez - Women's XC/Track & Field
Arabella Valera - Women's Tennis
Tammy Van - Women's Tennis
