Stephanie Cox Named WCC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Portland's Stephanie Cox and San Francisco's Tavo Hall Awarded WCC's Top Honor

SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- University of Portland standout soccer player Stephanie Cox and University of San Francisco baseball player Tavo Hall have been selected as the 2008 Mike Gilleran West Coast Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year by a vote of the league's Institutional Representatives.

The Mike Gilleran WCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award recognizes the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics, and community service by individuals who have completed their collegiate eligibility.

"All eight schools in the West Coast Conference take pride in developing student-athletes who are leaders on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom and in the community," WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "Tavo and Stephanie have exemplified all of those qualities during their collegiate careers, and are worthy recipients of this award."

Cox is the ninth Pilot to earn the honor and third women’s soccer player from Portland in the last five years to be recognized. She was a three-time NSCAA All-American, four-time First Team All-WCC selection and was twice named the league’s Defender of the Year.

Hall is the first USF male athlete to receive the Mike Gilleran WCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award since Joe DeBortoli in 1990.

MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Tavo Hall - University of San Francisco - Baseball - 3.88 GPA
Hall was instrumental in guiding the Dons to their first-ever NCAA Baseball Tournament appearance. In the final two weeks of the 2006 regular season, Hall returned from a hand injury to hit .333 with three doubles, nine runs scored and three stolen bases. Despite missing parts of three seasons with injuries, Hall ranks seventh on USF's all-time stolen base list with 49. He finished his career at USF with 173 hits, 32 doubles and 76 RBI, and was a two-time COSIDA/ESPN Third-Team All-District VIII selection.

In the classroom, Hall was voted USF's 2007 Class Valedictorian for the College of Letters and Science and won the 2007 Charles Harney Award given to the USF senior with the highest GPA. He was the only student representative on the USF Advisory Board from 2006-08, and also served on the school's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).

Hall served the community in a number of capacities, volunteering for the Nike Women's Marathon, the Breast Cancer Walk and the Reading/Mentoring Program at the Kipp-Bayview School in San Francisco's Hunter's Point neighborhood.

FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Cox - University of Portland - Soccer - 3.78 GPA
Cox (formerly Stephanie Lopez), who won numerous athletic awards during her legendary career at the University of Portland, has been a member of the United States National Team since 2004 and will compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She also started for the U.S. at the 2006 World Cup, and was the only collegiate player on the roster.

Cox led Portland to a 76-11 record over four seasons, and led the Pilots to an NCAA Championship and undefeated season in 2005. She was a three-time NSCAA All-American selection, four-time First Team All-West Coast Conference selection and two-time WCC Defensive Player of the Year. Academically, Lopez won the 2007 Lowe's National Senior CLASS Award for women's soccer, and was a two-time WCC All-Academic selection.

The University of Portland standout is no stranger to community service as her family has hosted over 90 foster children over the past 15 years, and she has traveled to the Bahamas and Mexico on missionary trips. Cox led her dorm bible studies in 2004 and team prayers in 2006. She has also served as a volunteer cook at a Ronald McDonald House in the Portland area.

MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

2008 Tavo Hall, USF Bsb

2007 Richard Johnson, PEP Ten

2006 Nicholas Kliebert, PEP Bsb

2005 Michael Putnam, PEP G

2004 Blake Stepp, GON Bkb

2003 Jeff Kovar, LMU Soc

2002 Dan Dickau, GON Bkb

2001 Michael Cortez, LMU XC

2000 Bryan Bothwell, POR XC

1999 Clemens Philippi, LMU Soc

1998 David Sivulich, SMC Bkb

1997 Uli Steidl, POR XC

1996 Brendan Graves, SCU Bkb

1995 Jacob Slania, USD Bsb

1994 Jeff Brown, GON Bkb

1993 Jason Boykoff, POR Soc

1992 Jarrod Davis, GON Bkb

1991 Brenden Griffin, USD Soc

1990 Joe DeBortoli, USF Bkb

1989 Rick Hirtensteiner, PEP Bsb

1988 Wes Bliven, SCU Bsb

1987 Steve Krallman, USD Bkb

1986 John Bustos, USF Soc

1985 Bryce McPhee, GON Bkb

1984 John Stockton, GON Bkb

1983 Brandon Bennett, SMC Bkb

1982 Bill Dunlap, GON Bkb

1981 Al Smoot, USF Bsb

1980 Ted Wood, SMC Bkb

1979 Rodney Lee, USF Ten

1978 Patrick McVeigh, SCU XC

1977 John O’Shaughnessy, SCU G

1976 Dick Skophammer, PEP Bkb



FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

2008 Stephanie Cox, POR Soc

2007 Kim McGiven, SCU Vb

2006 Christine Sinclair, POR Soc

2005 Megan Kakadelas, SCU Soc

2004 Kate Murray, LMU Bkb

Imani Dorsey, POR Soc

2003 Katherine Hull, PEP G

Aly Wagner, SCU Soc

2002 Danielle Slaton, SCU Soc

2001 Anne Garrison, SCU Bkb

2000 Susan Erpelding, USD Bkb

1999 Brittany Lindhe, USF Bkb

1998 Tracy Holman, LMU Vb

1997 Mollie Flint, SMC Bkb

1996 Valerie Gillon, USF Bkb

1995 Margaret Krawiec, SCU Soc

1994 Sheri Brown, LMU Bkb

1993 Nikki Rosenfeldt, POR Vb

1992 Martha Sheldon, POR Bkb

1991 Anja Bordt, SMC Bkb

1990 Paula Mascari, USD Bkb

1989 Tracy Thorne, POR XC

1988 Mary Carlson, USF Vb

1987 Debbie Dunbar, USF Bkb

1986 Chris Starr, NEV Bkb

Bkb=Basketball; Bsb=Baseball; Vb=Volleyball; XC=Cross Country; Ten=Tennis; G=Golf; Soc=Soccer