Two Gators Awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 | Gymnastics
Two University of Florida student-athletes - gymnast Savannah Evans and swimmer Kevin Nead - are among the 58 recipients of NCAA postgraduate scholarships for those who participated in winter sports. Each year, the NCAA awards a total 174 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each. UF student-athletes have been awarded 43 NCAA postgraduate scholarships since 1969.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work as a full-time or part-time graduate student.
Evans received degrees in sports management & business administration at last weekend's commencement ceremonies. She earned 2007 All-America first-team honors for vault and floor exercise after sharing fourth in the NCAA floor final (9.90) and taking sixth in the vault final (9.8125). Evans also shared the 2007 NCAA Northeast Region floor title at 9.90 for the first regional event title of her collegiate career. As a freshman in 2004, Evans matched the Florida vault record with her perfect 10.0 mark versus UCLA. She finished her UF career in 2007 as a four-time All-American. Evans is a three-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll and appeared on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Scholastic All-America team each season of her collegiate career.
Nead owns a 3.96 grade point average and is pursuing a degree in zoology. He joined the Gator team for the 2005-06 season after competing for Virginia as a freshman. He is the 2007 and 2008 SEC Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a two-time UF Swimming Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Nead was named to the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team and is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll plus appeared on the 2004-05 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll. He has been selected to the Dean's List six times, the President's List three times and has been awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship, the William Carleton Scholarship and inducted into the Matthew's Society. As one of the three recipients of the Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship, Nead spent six months in Lille, France, in 2007 where he studied the genetics of Type II Diabetes under Dr. Phillippe Froguel, the first most cited Diabetes researcher in the world.
A four-time All-SEC performer, Nead was a captain of the Gator swim team this season. He is a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, three-time NCAA Championship qualifier and a two-time honorable mention All-American. He finished fourth at the 2007 SEC Championships in the 400 individual medley.
