May 10, 2011
ST. LOUIS -
Illinois State men's golfers Jeff Kellen and Eric Meier were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, as announced by the league office Tuesday. A total of nine student-athletes earned first-team scholar-athlete honors, and three others earned honorable-mention status.
Kellen, a three-time All-Valley golfer and two-time Valley Scholar-Athlete, finished the MVC tournament with sole possession of third place with a 221 (77-74-70) tally and led the men's golf team to a second-place finish, carding a three-round 918 (312-315-291) score. The Rockford, Ill., native's best season score came at the Firestone Invitational, where the senior shot a three-over-par 219 (74-71-74). Kellen was named the MVC Golfer of the Week twice during the season and was honored by the Golf Coaches Associate of America (GCAA) as a Division I Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-American Scholar at the beginning of the 2010-11 golf season. Kellen holds a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.66 in history.
Meier finished the MVC tournament in a five-way tie for 11th place after recording a three-round 231 (79-80-72). The Normal, Ill., native was named the MVC Golf of the Week for his efforts at the Cardinal Intercollegiate, where he finished with a season-best three-under-par 213 (66-75-72). Meier has a 3.49 GPA in Mathematics.
The criteria for the MVC scholar-athlete team parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for academic Capital One Academic All-America® program. Nominees must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale), while the student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institutions and must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team's rounds or played at the State Farm MVC Championship.
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