CLEVELAND, Ohio- Twenty-four Mid-American Conference (MAC) student-athletes were presented the Medal of Excellence Award during this evening's Honors Dinner Ceremony at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel as part of the MAC Spring Meetings.
The Medal of Excellence is an award presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions. Receiving the honor for Western Michigan was men's tennis player Matt Hamilton and women's tennis player Tracy Kuhle.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our Medal of Excellence Award winners."
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
Hamilton, who carries a 3.99 GPA as a finance major, was named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District selection, First Team All-MAC and to the All-MAC Tournament Team after finishing 24-9 overall in singles and 5-2 in the MAC in 2016-17. He ended his career tied for 10th in all-time wins in WMU history and tied for fifth in career singles wins with 104. He went 20-7 in doubles and 5-1 in the MAC while going 15-3 in dual matches. He is a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree and a three-time Team MVP. He was also named Second Team All-MAC in 2015-16 and was a Capital One Academic All-District selection in 2014-15.
Kuhle, who carries a 3.97 GPA as a marketing major, finished 16-14 in singles and went 5-3 in the MAC in 2016-17. She had a team-best 19-16 record in doubles and 4-2 in the MAC. Kuhle finished sixth in career wins in WMU history counting both singles and doubles wins. She is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection, a two-time MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete, was named Second Team All-MAC in 2015-16 and to the All-MAC Tournament team in 2014-15.
2017 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Bradley Ruhaak (men's soccer); Hannah Plybon (women's basketball)
Ball State: Lucas Andersen (men's tennis); Leah Mattingly (women's soccer)
Bowling Green: Joe Sullivan (men's soccer); Madeline Garda (volleyball)
Buffalo: Garrett Clarke (men's swimming); Corinne Birchard (women's cross country/track & field)
Central Michigan: Dylan Banagis (men's cross country/track & field); Christen Chiesa (women's soccer)
Eastern Michigan: William Fink (men's track & field); Sierra Wagner (women's swimming)
Kent State: Lukas Burch (baseball); Larissa Lurken (women's basketball)
Miami: Adam Yacek (baseball); Kelsi White (women's field hockey)
Northern Illinois: Carlos Manzanas (men's tennis); Mary Grace Kelly (volleyball)
Ohio: Peyton White (men's golf); Madison Claytor (softball)
Toledo: Joshua Cales (baseball); Sophie Reecher (women's basketball)
Western Michigan: Matt Hamilton (men's tennis); Tracy Kuhle (women's tennis)
