RELEASED:  Tuesday, November 11, 2008

UW-Eau Claire’s Freiborg Claims Women’s Volleyball Scholar-Athlete Award

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Abby Freiborg has been named the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Women’s Volleyball Scholar-Athlete.

A senior from Sacred Heart, Minn. (Renville County West), Freiborg is majoring in communication sciences and disorders and carries a 3.59 grade point average.  She was named to the 2008 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women’s Volleyball Third Team and is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll.  Freiborg has been recognized on UW-Eau Claire’s Dean’s List numerous occasions and presented at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research.

Freiborg, a team captain, was named the WIAC Player of the Year this season and is a two-time All-WIAC first team selection.  She helped the Blugolds win the WIAC regular-season championship in 2006 and 2008 and reach the NCAA Division III Tournament four straight seasons.  Freiborg was named UW-Eau Claire’s Rookie of the Year in 2005 and Most Valuable Player in 2007.

She is a member of UW-Eau Claire’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has volunteered for a Reading Partners program.

Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were:  UW-Eau Claire’s Jenna Weber (Sr., Antigo, Wis.), UW-La Crosse’s Emily Carroll (Sr., Plainfield, Wis./Tri-County) and Amber Schoonover (Sr., Tomah, Wis.), UW-Oshkosh’s Valerie Vost (Sr., Oshkosh, Wis./West), UW-Platteville’s Rochelle Ripp (Sr., Lodi, Wis.), UW-River Falls’ Drew Hample (Sr., Mahtomedi, Minn.) and Justine Speckel (Sr., Buffalo, Minn.) and UW-Whitewater’s Stephanie Gardon (Sr., West Bend, Wis./West).

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98.  Prior to this appointment, she functioned as Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from October, 1984 - September, 1996.

In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.