BRIEF: Stanford athletes recognized by conference

Four Cardinal athletes received the Pac-10 2011 Spring Scholar-Athlete Award, the conference announced Monday. For an individual to be eligible for the award, he or she must be a senior, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and participate in at least half of the scheduled athletic competitions.

Long-distance runners Elliott Heath and Kate Niehaus and rowers Alex Syverson and Erika Roddy were the four Stanford student-athletes awarded. Ten total student-athletes in the conference were selected from a pool nominated by their respective universities.

The honor is the second Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete Award of the year for Heath, who also was recognized for cross country. The senior from Winona, Minn., is a seven-time All-American, a national champion in the 2011 NCAA indoor 3,000 meter and the Stanford record-holder in the 5,000 meter.

Niehaus was the most experienced distance runner for the Card this past season, competing in both cross country and track as a redshirt senior.

Syverson was a member of the Stanford men’s crew squad that earned a bronze at
the Pac-10 Championships. He earned a degree in economics with a 3.70 grade-point average.

Roddy was the 2009 Pac-10 Women’s Rower of the Year and was part of the Stanford I Eight boats that placed second, first and third in the country in 2008, 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Senior USC pitcher Chris Mezger, Oregon golfer Jake Dukeminier, Cal golfer Pia Halbig, ASU outfielder Lesley Rogers and tennis players Jaak Poldma and Venise Chan from USC and Washington, respectively, were the other spring student-athletes recognized.