STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE MONTH
Each month, the UW Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) selects its "Student-Athletes of the Month."
These student-athletes are nominated by their coaches and academic advisors based on the following criteria:
• Be academically eligible and in good academic standing
• Have obtained an outstanding achievement or recognition in academics
• Make a significant contribution to their respective team
• Be actively engaged in community service
SAAC members then vote on the winners at the first SAAC meeting of each month. The goal is to have
each sport represented throughout the year. At the end of the year, all of the "Student-Athletes of the Month"
become the nominations for the male and female Student-Athlete of the Year awards, which is awarded at
the Buckinghams.
KENDALL SCHMIDT
WOMEN'S ROWING
A senior from Greenfield, Wis,
Schmidt is majoring in Civil
Engineering. She has been the
top coxswain on the team for
the past two seasons and is
on track to repeat this season.
Coaches call her a team leader
both on and off the water that
has proven herself to be one of
the best athletes on the team
even though her job does not
demand it. She has the highest
cumulative GPA on the team in
a demanding major and is in the
running for an NCAA Elite 89
award this spring. Schmidt has
earned multiple Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic
All-America awards and is heavily involved in the rowing teams'
community service projects.
28 » VARSITY
APR I L 18, 2013
BEN RUBLE
MEN'S ROWING
Ruble is a senior from Minneapolis majoring in computer
engineering. His coaches say he
is possibly the strongest poundfor-pound rower in the history
of the program at UW. Twenty
pounds lighter than the average
rower, Ruble has broken every
significant ergometer mark for
collegiate rowing, including the
six-minute mark for a 2-kilometer race, which is the national
team standard. He's been recently voted team captain for the
2012-13 season.
MARY MASSEI
SOFTBALL
A Chino Hills, Calif., native,
Massei leads the Badgers with a
.425 batting average. The junior
outfielder is second in the Big
Ten with 57 hits and three triples. She earned Big Ten Player
of the Week honor following an
impressive weekend at the Diamond 9 Tournament Feb.22-24
where she batted .571, driving
in nine runs and scoring seven.
She became the first Wisconsin player almost four seasons
to record a walk-off home run
when she belted a two-run
homer in the 11th inning against
Notre Dame on Feb. 10 to lead
Wisconsin to victory. Massei
and the Badgers are off to the
best start in program history
with a 30-9 record.