Berkley Whaley Receives NCAA Elite 89 Award at National Banquet

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The NCAA held its banquet for the 2013 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships, honoring several student-athletes. University of Tampa student-athlete Berkley Whaley was among the honorees.

Whaley, a sophomore outside hitter from St. Petersburg, Fla., was presented with the NCAA Elite 89 Award. She received the honor for being the student-athlete among the eight national quarterfinal participants with the highest GPA. The advertising and public relations major carries a 4.0 GPA.

Whaley becomes the first UT student-athlete and eighth Sunshine State Conference student-athlete to receive the award since it was established in 2009-10.

The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA championships.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association of America (AVCA) also honored the All-Americans in attendance, in addition to recognizing those who did not attend. The National Player of the Year Award was also presented to Minnesota-Duluth's Kate Lange.

Among the UT student-athletes honored were Whaley (first team), Holly Reschke (second team), Marissa Lisenbee (second team) and Meagan Burke (honorable mention).

Prior to the banquet, UT also participated in a press conference as head coach Chris Catanach was joined by Burke and Kahley Patrick.

For complete information on UT Volleyball at the NCAA championships, please visit Tampa Spartans.com.

Click here to watch Berkley Whaley receive the Elite 89 Award