Nanook basketball puts seven on GNAC all-academic team

Submitted by Tom Myrick
Phone: 907-474-6807
03/06/08

The hard work in the classroom has paid off for seven Alaska basketball players, as five members of the Nanook women’s team and two of the Nanook men have earned spots on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s all-academic team.

Of the Nanooks honored, junior forward Mladen Begojevic earned the highest overall GPA with a 3.60. Begojevic, a business administration major, was joined on the men’s academic team by senior guard Mike Titus, whose 3.21 GPA in economics garnered him a spot as well.

Junior Cristina Bruketta, who also earned GNAC Player of the Week honors earlier this week, found a spot on the all-academic team with a 3.46 GPA in her child development and family services major. Fellow junior Sheena Brown, a psychology major, also snagged conference all-academic honors with a 3.40 GPA, all while putting up a team-best 17.6 points per game: second-best in the GNAC.

Sophomore Megan Thigpen led the Nanook women with a 3.52 GPA, though she has yet to declare her major.

Sophomore Sarah Herrin and senior Kari Reabold round out the honors for the women’s side. Herrin earned a 3.39 GPA in her justice major, while communications major Reabold finished with a 3.21 GPA.

To qualify for conference all-academic honors, student-athletes had to maintain a grade point average of at least 3.20, and be competing in their second season with the Nanooks.

The full list of the GNAC all-academic team is as follows:

Men
Jared Kettler, UAA (Aviation Tech & Management, Sr., 3.74, Dana Point, CA)
Mladen Begojevic, UAF (Business Administration, Jr., 3.60, Ruma, Serbia)
Mike Titus, UAF (Economics, Sr., 3.21, Fairbanks, AK)
Johnny Spevak, CWU (Accounting, Jr., 3.74, Edgewood, WA)
Bryce Daub, CWU (Exercise Science, Sr., 3.61, Bellevue, WA)
Louie Beech, NNU (Spanish & Biology, So., 3.94, Nampa, ID)
Kendall Gielow, NNU (Business Administration, So., 3.27, Medford, OR)
Brendan Campbell, SMU (Biology, Sr., 3.49, Bremerton, WA)
Jake Linton, SMU (Business, Jr., 3.33, Lynnwood, WA)
Leigh Swanson, SU (Marketing, Jr., 3.42, Mountlake Terrace, WA)
Travis Welt, SU (Mechanical Engineering, Sr., 3.37, Spokane, WA)
Taylor Olson, SU (Business, So., 3.21, Seattle, WA)
Jared Moultrie, SPU (Communications, Sr., 3.63, Westpoint, UT)
Casey Reed, SPU (Business Administration, Jr., 3.44, Canby, OR)
Filip Popovic, SPU (Computer Science, Sr., 3.25, Montenegro, Serbia)
Tyler Blok, WOU (Business, Jr., 3.48, Banks, OR)
Calin Schell, WWU (Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Jr., 3.67, Chelan, WA)
David Brittinen, WWU (Biology/Anthropology, Jr., 3.42, Hoquiam, WA)

Women

Limor Pelleg, UAA (Management, Jr., 3.68, Rishon LeZion, Israel)
Maria Nilsson, UAA (Physical Education, Sr., 3.65, Skovde, Sweden)
Erin Cunningham, UAA (Accounting, Sr., 3.25, Yuba City, CA)
Megan Thigpen, UAF (Undeclared, So., 3.52, Spokane, WA)
Cristina Bruketta, UAF (Child Development & Family Services, Jr., 3.46, Ellensburg, WA - Kittitas)
Sheena Brown, UAF (Psychology, Jr., 3.40, Fairbanks, AK)
Sarah Herrin, UAF (Justice, So., 3.39, Nikiski, AK)
Kari Reabold, UAF (Elementary Education, Jr., 3.21, Fairbanks, AK)
Hilary Tanneberg, CWU (Accounting, Jr., 3.60, Issaquah, WA - Liberty)
Elyse (Mengarelli) Maras, CWU (Health, Human Performance & Recreation, Grad, 3.52, Yakima, WA )
Ashley Fenimore, CWU (Elementary Education, Jr., 3.22, Lynnwood, WA)
Alira Carpenter, MSUB (Biology/Chemistry, Jr., 3.56, Lewiston, MT)
Jen Smith, MSUB (Elementary Education, Jr., 3.53, Belgrade, MT)
Rachel Hanson, MSUB (Biology/Chemistry, So., 3.34, Lolo, MT)
Paige Knudson, NNU (Secondary Education/Health & Kinesiology, Sr., 3.61, Pocatello, ID)
Lindsay Brady, NNU (Psychology, So., 3.53, Boise, ID)
Brittney Roggenkamp, NNU (Graphic Design, So., 3.49, LaCenter, WA)
Mallory Whipple, NNU (Liberal Studies, Jr., 3.39, Redmond, OR)
Sade Smith, SMU (Psychology, Sr., 3.94, Pullman, WA)
Amy Layton, SMU (Biology, Jr., 3.84, Toledo, WA)
Jamey Gelhar, SMU (Business, So., 3.54, Brush Prairie, WA)
Megan Busch, SMU (Math, So., 3.50, Bellingham, WA)
Quinn Brewe, SU (English, Jr., 3.80, Edmonds, WA)
Jackie Thomas, SU (Sociology, Sr., 3.70, Tacoma, WA)
Cassidy Murillo, SU (Pre-Science, So., 3.38, Yakima, WA)
Laina Sobczak, SU (Sociology, Sr., 3.23, University Place, WA)
Libby Magnuson, SPU (Visual Communications, Sr., 3.83, White Bear Lake, MN)
Beth Christensen, SPU (Physical Education, Sr., 3.61, Enumclaw, WA)
Jackie Hollands, SPU (Psychology, Sr., 3.58, Oregon City, OR)
Daesha Henderson, SPU (Biology, So., 3.56, Snohomish, WA)
Lexi Schaar, SPU (Europeon Studies-Linguistics, So., 3.33, Crookston, MN)
Jessie Christensen, SPU (Physical Education, Sr., 3.32, Enumclaw, WA)
Claire Carpenter, WOU (Elementary Education, Sr., 3.39, Gresham, OR)
Vanessa Wyffels, WOU (Mathematics, Sr., 3.20, Portland, OR)