COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Malina Howard, a junior at the University of Maryland, is the recipient of the Elite 89 award for the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.
The Elite 89 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’s championships.
“Malina puts her heart and soul into everything she does and her drive and determination are contagious. We take great pride in Malina’s success both academically and athletically.," head coach Brenda Frese said. "She’s very deserving of this recognition and honor. Malina has an extremely bright future in front of her and we are fortunate to have her as a member of our Maryland Basketball family.”
Howard, majoring in kinesiology, currently carries a 3.798 GPA. She was honored with the award Tuesday evening during the women’s basketball championship game at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
"We’re very proud of Malina for earning this distinguished honor," Maryland director of athletics Kevin Anderson said. "She is an outstanding ambassador of this University and athletics department and her commitment to excellence in the classroom, on the court and in the community is a shining example of what it means to be a student-athlete at the University of Maryland."
Howard started in all 37 of the Terrapins’ games this season, helping them to a record of 34-3 and their second straight Final Four. She also helped lead them to a school-record 28-game win streak, the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten tournament title. Howard received a Sportsmanship Award from the Big Ten and was named to the All-Big Ten Academic Team.
All GPAs are based on a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship.
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