Volleyball's Bowers Named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 | Volleyball
Senior Florida middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) on Monday was recognized by the Southeastern Conference for her performances both in the classroom and on the court, as she was named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office in Birmingham, Ala., announced.
Bowers, who becomes the first Florida player to earn the distinction in the six-year history of the award, is a three-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection. This season, she was a first-team Academic All-District selection and was a second-team Academic All-American.
Bowers currently holds a 3.92 grade point average in public relations with a minor in Italian.
Bowers, who has played in 118 career matches, is one of only seven players in school history to have eclipsed the 400-block plateau for her career and just the 17th to have recorded 300 or more career blocks. She currently ranks seventh on the school's all-time career total blocks list with 417. On the season, Bowers ranks second on the team in blocks per set with 0.94, including ranking seventh in the Southeastern Conference in league matches only with a 0.99 blocks per set average. Bowers has either led or tied for the team lead in blocks per set on 12 occasions this season.
Bowers is a two-time All-SEC second-team selection and a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She was the Volleyball Magazine Scholar Athlete of the Month for December 2007. Bowers was named to the 2008 Preseason All-SEC Team.
Bowers and the Gators return to action on Friday, when they play host to Florida A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST and the match will be carried live on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore.
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SEC VOLLEYBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HISTORY
2003 – Erin Price, Alabama
2004 – Jennifer Haaser, Arkansas
2005 – Danielle Wallace, Kentucky
2006 – Rachel Shanks, Auburn
2007 – Rachel Shanks, Auburn
2008 – Kelsey Bowers, Florida
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