More than 165 UE student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff members got an early start to their day this morning, gathering at 6:45 a.m. at Carson Center for the Student-Athlete Academic Honors Breakfast.

The event was conducted by the athletics department to honor the 118 student-athletes who earned a grade point average of 3.5 or better during at least one semester of the 2007-08 academic year.  Dr. Stephen Jennings and Director of Athletics John Stanley spoke to the group. The student-athletes invited faculty and staff members to the breakfast whom they consider important reasons for their success during their years at UE. Ashley Austin, a member of the women’s basketball team, and Brian Joyce, a men’s cross country runner, addressed the audience and spoke about their experience at UE.

"I think the student athlete breakfast is a great way to recognize the student-athletes," said James Nash, a senior on the men's swim team. "The one professor I invited seemed to like the concept of recognizing the student-athletes. This breakfast is a great way to show that we are not just athletes."

"The breakfast was a great opportunity to let our professors know that we could not be where we are without their dedication of going above and beyond to help us succeed," said Katie Kincaid, a senior volleyball player. "It was a great way to acknowledge the hard work of our student-athletes as well as the professors that give us the ability to excel in the classroom."

“We are extremely proud of how well our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom,” said Sarah Solinsky, UE’s associate athletics director and senior woman administrator. “Today was an opportunity to take time to celebrate our student-athletes’ performance and thank our faculty and staff for their contributions.”

Below is a list of the student-athletes who were honored at Tuesday's breakfast:

Alex Acheson Ashley Austin Dustin Awe* Jared Baehl Andrew Balczo Stephanie Bamberger Ashlee Barrett* Kate Batey Kristyn Benter Angela Bleecher* Sam Bornstein Megan Bowlds* Kate Chybowski* Chris Combs Allie Cox Danielle Diehl* Jaclyn Dippel Ericka Duckworth* Reggie Edu Cory Elenio Susan Elliott Franny Enzler Lissa Fehlman Courtney Felke Elise Feltes John Foley Tom Freeman Amy Gallagher Dan Gibson Trevor Gregory Heidi Grey Ryan Grieco Ben Harner Courtney Heller Brittany Herald* Ashley Hobbs Tyler Hoek Dan Holcomb Jason Holsinger* Zachary House

Andrea Hoy* Matthew Hunsaker* Erik Johnson Brian Joyce* Stephanie Kauffman Matthew Kaufman Geoff Keller Cassey Kemna* Jaclyn Kern* Katie Kincaid* Alex Kopko* Shawn Kuester Sally Kulupka Andrew Kunz Kasey Kutzler Kayla Lambert Ty Legan Kimberly Libertino Ryan Linsner* Phil Lubbehusen Anna Luecke John Luttrull Robby Lynch Steven Matthews Ian McAuley* Jennifer McKee* Susan McKinley* Ethan Merkel Stephanie Millis* Katie Molinet Nicole Moyen Kara Murphy Lisa Murphy Kyoko Nakamura Chris Nash James Nash Matt Netherton* Shannon Novosel* Mark Obenchain Amanda Ockomon

Rebekah Parker* Jamie Petty* Kaitlynn Radtke Laura Rather Kyle Reddington Katelyn Sandy Christina Schmidgall* Alex Schroeder Ady Sekely Annie Shackelford Katie Shoener Hannah Singleton* Kaitlyn Sluka Amy Smith Corey Southers* Megan Spurlock* Jessica Sumner Arrena Svoboda Jason Switzer Susan Szafir Anne Teegardin Diane Threlkeld Kevin Todd Trish Tolen* Melissa Truex Nicole Uhrin Pieter van Tongeren Jim Viscomi Elaine Walroth* Julie Walroth Colleen Ward* Trent Wargel Kellee Widener Sara Wilhoite* Julie Winkler* Danielle Wolter Maggie Wood Nicole Zygmontowicz

*Indicates a student-athlete that received a 4.0 for either term.