ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday 72 Rutgers University student-athletes across 20 Scarlet Knight programs were honored with the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award.

In addition, 19 Scarlet Knights achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs for the 2015-16 academic year, denoted in bold lettering below. The total number of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for Rutgers is up from 54 last season, while 13 more Scarlert Knights posted perfect GPAs in 2015-16.

Nine-hundred and fourteen students competing in intercollegiate athletics earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The list includes students from every institution and 38 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

The 2015-16 class of Distinguished Scholar Award recipients includes at least 148 students who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term. This group of honorees is pursuing diverse fields of study with a list of majors that include mathematics, accountancy, kinesiology, biological sciences, law and public policy, mechanical engineering, nursing, biotechnology, elementary education, business, journalism, marketing, psychology and many others.

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.

The full list of Rutgers University's Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award honorees is below. To view the list of all 914 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award winners, click here.

Baseball (2)
Max Herrmann, Sr., Labor Studies & Employment Relations/Criminal Justice
Kyle Walker, So., Supply Chain Management

Women's Basketball (1)
Alana Ferruggiaro, Sr., Psychology

Men's Cross Country (2)
Trent Brinkofski, So., Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Luke Wiley, So., History, European

Women's Cross Country (6)
Kaitlyn Bedard, Jr., Social Work
Allyson Black, So., Nursing
Ellen Miller, Jr., Visual Arts
Nicole Nicholas, Jr., Marketing
Sarah Robbie, Jr., Psychology
Paige Senatore, Sr., Psychology

Field Hockey (3)
Victoria Crans, So., Genetics
Simrin Dhillon, So., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Sarah Regn, Jr., Psychology

Men's Golf (1)
Chase Wheatley, Jr., Information Technology & Informatics

Women's Golf (3)
Tatum Jackson, So., Finance
Emily Mills, So., Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Christina Paulsen, Sr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies

Gymnastics (5)
Libby Groden, So., Visual Arts
Elizabeth Nand, So., Genetics
Charly Santagado, Jr., Philosophy
Katie Stebick, Sr., Psychology
Nicolette Wilson, Sr., Biological Sciences

Men's Lacrosse (4)
Steve Hillenbrand, So., Finance
Patrick McCabe, Jr., Criminal Justice
Michael Rexrode, So., Civil & Environmental Engineering
Zack Sikora, Sr., Civil & Environmental Engineering

Women's Lacrosse (5)
Halley Barnes, Sr., Communication
Amanda Casten, So., Management
Kristin Kocher, Gr., Special Education
Kim Kolodny, Sr., Psychology
Nikki McMonagle, Sr., Communication

Rowing (9)
Sarah Brook, Sr., Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Veronica DeSalvo, Sr., Biomedical Engineering
Michelle Gao, Jr., Economics
Shannon Haines, Sr., Public Health
Bailey Irelan, Sr., Journalism and Media Studies
Morgan Knigge, Sr., Environmental & Business Economics
Caitlin Lavery, Sr., Political Science/Anthropology
Langley Oudemans, Jr, Environmental & Business Economics
Josephine Roosli, Jr., Exercise Science & Sports Studies

Men's Soccer (4)
Kieran Kemmerer, Sr., Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering
Mitch Lurie, Sr., Labor Studies & Employment Relations
Brandon Tetro, So., Political Science
Mitchell Walier, Jr., Electrical and Computer Engineering

Women's Soccer (7)
Christy Monroy, Jr., Chemical & Biochemical Engineering
Maggie Morash, Sr., Genetics
Gabby Moreno, Sr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Jessica Puchalski, Jr., Public Health
Brianne Reed, Sr., Public Health
Jenna Seddon, Jr., English
Samantha Valliant, Sr., Animal Science

Softball (5)
Aubrie Levine, Jr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Dresden Maddox, Sr., Public Health
Melanie Slowinski, Sr., Psychology
Meaghan Wells, So., Plant Science
Jordan Whitley, Sr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies

Women's Swimming & Diving (4)
Meghan Kiely, Jr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Sophie Newton, Sr., Biochemistry
Morgan Pfaff, Sr., Criminal Justice
Addison Walkowiak, So., Public Health

Women's Tennis (1)
Chloe Lee, So., Material Science and Engineering

Men's Track & Field (3)
Brennan Crowle, Jr., Management
Brendan Jaeger, Jr., Supply Chain Management
Michael Stafford, Sr., Labor Studies & Employment Relations

Women's Track & Field (1)
Allison Payenski, Gr., Science Education

Volleyball (4)
Lauren Cloyd, Jr., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Talia Holze, So., Exercise Science & Sport Studies
Mikaela Matthews, Sr., Public Health
Anna Sudbury, Sr., Cell Biology & Neuroscience

Wrestling (2)
Mikey Simmons, Sr., Communication
Billy Smith, Gr., Special Education

Bold indicates 4.0 GPA

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