Feb. 12, 2013
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Senior golfer Michael Kania (Haverford, Pa.) has been named Villanova's 2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters Male Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarship award winner, as announced by the BIG EAST Conference on Tuesday afternoon. As an institutional award winner, Kania is the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship that may be applied towards graduate studies.
Kania, a senior co-captain of the golf team, has had a breakout year on the course, in the classroom and in the community. He was most recently named the BIG EAST Men's Golf Player of the Month in October of 2012 and recorded the second individual championship of his career at the Lehigh Invitational, carding rounds of 68-75--143 (-1 ) in Fall 2012. He continued to have a breakout Fall campaign finishing tied for second place overall and first on the team at the CHAMPS/Patriot Intercollegiate and tied for third place overall at the Adams Cup of Newport. Overall, he's averaged a 72.46 through 13 rounds for the 2012-13 season.
As standout in the classroom, Kania maintains a 3.53 cumulative GPA as a communications major and serves as the President of Villanova's Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
Notre Dame soccer standout Grant Van De Casteele was named the overall BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference and American Eagle Outfitters during the 2012-13 academic year. Thirty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST's 15 member institutions) will be named as the winners of the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and an American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete AwardsSchool Name Sport(s) MajorCincinnati Chase Beckman Track & Field FinanceConnecticut Kevin Smith Track & Field Doctor of Physical TherapyDePaul John Pavelko Golf Public Relations/AdvertisingGeorgetown Benjamin Furcht Cross Country/Track & Field MathematicsMarquette Kyle Winter Track & Field Finance & MarketingNotre Dame Grant Van De Casteele Soccer FinancePittsburgh Adam Maczewski Swimming & Diving Information ScienceProvidence Wilder Arboleda Soccer Political ScienceRutgers Jeff Melillo Baseball FinanceSt. John's Sean Hagan Baseball M.S., AccountingSeton Hall Jon Prosinski Baseball AccountingUSF Luke Sager Football M.S., Entrepreneurship in Applied TechnologiesSyracuse Ryan Nassib Football M.S., AccountingVillanova Michael Kanla Golf Communication
American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athletes Of The YearYear Name, School, Sport1985 Joey David, Pittsburgh, Basketball1986 John Prior, Connecticut, Track & Field1987 Harold Jensen, Villanova, Basketball1988 Dave Echeverria, Villanova, Swimming & Diving1989 Chris Craft, Villanova, Swimming & Diving1990 Pat O'Kelly, Seton Hall, Soccer1991 David Honor, St. John's, Baseball1992 Steve Holman, Georgetown, Track & Field1993 Hector Zamora, Seton Hall, Soccer1994 Sebastien Goulet, Swimming, Syracuse1995 Kevin Lyles, Seton Hall, Track & Field1996 Gil Kovalski, Miami, Tennis1997 Christian Fogarazzo, St. John's, Track & Field1998 Errol Williams, Notre Dame, Track & Field1999 Angelo Ciminiello, Providence, Baseball2000 Scott VanEpps, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving2001 Chris Hamblin, Boston College, Soccer2002 Gregory Strohmann, Seton Hall, Soccer2003 Casey Schmidt, Boston College, Soccer2004 Chris Wingert, St. John's, Soccer2005 Guy Melamed, Boston College, Soccer2006 Trevor O'Grady, Rutgers, Track & Field2007 Drew Eckman, Villanova, Track & Field2008 Jeremy Stultz, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving2009 Zak Boggs, USF, Soccer2010 Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, Soccer2011 Brian Karalunas, Villanova, Lacrosse2012 Eric Finan, Cincinnati, Cross Country/Track & Field2013 Grant Van De Casteele, Notre Dame, Soccer
