NINE WILDCAT HOOPSTERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-GNAC ACCOLADES

March 1, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash. - A total of nine basketball student-athletes from Central Washington University, including seven women's players, have been named to the 2006-07 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference team, announced Wednesday by the conference office.

Three-time selection Laura Wright (Longview, Wash./Mark Morris HS) headlines the Wildcats' list of selections with a 3.82 cumulative grade-point average in biology. The senior center is one of just six players in the conference this year - on either the men's or women's side - to be a three-time selection. On the court, Wright became the all-time leading rebounder in CWU history last Saturday in a win over Western Oregon and will be playing her final collegiate home game on Thursday night against Seattle University.

Senior Lance Den Boer (Sunnyside, Wash./Sunnyside Christian HS) earned his second academic all-conference nod on the men's side, posting a 3.61 GPA in school health education. Den Boer has also led the Wildcats (14-11, 9-5 GNAC) on the court this season with 19.4 points per game and a conference-best 91.3 percent accuracy at the free throw line.

Joining Wright among the women's honorees were all of her fellow seniors - Stephanie McKinney (Centralia, Wash.), Brandie Bounds (Zillah, Wash.), Lauren Short (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie HS), and Ashley Blake (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes HS). Elyse Mengarelli (Yakima, Wash./East Valley HS), a graduate student who will return in 2007-08 with one quarter of eligibility remaining, was also named to the squad, as was sophomore Hilary Tanneberg (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty HS).

McKinney is studying law and justice with a 3.66 GPA. Bounds, Short, and Blake are all in the health field - Bounds has a 3.31 GPA in public health, while Short and Blake are both school health education majors with 3.25 and 3.24 GPAs, respectively. Tanneberg is an accounting major who carries a 3.58 grade-point average while Mengarelli is pursuing a Master's degree in the health, human performance, and recreation department.

Also named to the academic all-conference squad this year for the men was sophomore guard Johnny Spevak (Edgewood, Wash./Puyallup HS). Spevak, who also picked up Academic All-North Central Conference Team honors during the football season, has not declared a major but owns a 3.68 GPA.

To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition at their institution.

Contact: Jonathan Gordon (509-963-1485/fax 509-963-2351/e-mail: GordonJ@cwu.edu)