The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- August 30, 1999

NCAA awards 12 women's enhancement scholarships

The NCAA has awarded 12 postgraduate scholarships through the women's enhancement program.

The enhancement program, established in 1988 as a result of a recommendation of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, is designed to create better opportunities for women in coaching, athletics administration, officiating and athletics support services.

This year's postgraduate scholarships are being awarded to women who have completed an undergraduate degree and are seeking admission or have been accepted into an NCAA member institution's sports administration program or related program that will assist the applicant in obtaining a career in athletics.

To be considered for a postgraduate scholarship, applicants must express an interest in preparing for a professional career in athletics administration. The one-time award is valued at $6,000.

Applicants must be entering their first semester or term of postgraduate studies and must have performed with distinction as student-body members at their respective undergraduate institutions. The applicants' involvement with extracurricular activities, course work, commitment to the pursuit of a career in intercollegiate athletics and promise for success in such a career also are factors in the selection process.

The accompanying biographical sketches of 1999 scholarship recipients indicate the institution awarding the undergraduate degree and, if different, the institution where the postgraduate scholarship likely will be used.

Katherine A. Benson (University of Nebraska, Lincoln; University of Kansas) -- Benson was Nebraska's NCAA Woman of the Year candidate as well as a Big 12 Conference all-academic team member. She majored in political science and minored in English while playing basketball. She also earned a master's of business administration degree during her four years of eligibility and completed an internship at the U.S. House of Representatives. She plans to pursue a law degree.

Cynthia Botett (University of Maine, Orono; University of Delaware) -- Botett earned first-team all-America and North Atlantic Conference rookie-of-the-year honors in field hockey while majoring in kinesiology and physical education and minoring in human behavior and business. She served as president of Los Colores Unidos, a Latino student organization, and as a program/events coordinator for the Student Heritage Alliance Center. Botett will seek a master's degree in administration.

Wendy Michelle Fiel (Cornell University; Tulane University) -- A two-time defensive player of the year in softball, Fiel helped her team to a conference title in 1997. The undergraduate nutritional sciences major represented Cornell in an Ivy League research project celebrating the history of women's athletics. Fiel has served as an intern for the Yale Varsity Sports Office and will now pursue a degree in law.

Michelle M. Harris (University of Florida; undecided) -- Harris was a member of the 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship squad and was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's all-academic team. The exercise and sport sciences major and education minor completed an internship with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Harris intends to study education at the graduate level.

Kathleen Holmes (University of Denver) -- Holmes played volleyball and studied English, business and art as an undergraduate. The three-time team co-captain attended the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference and was named the Outstanding English Major and Greek Woman of the Year in 1999. Holmes will pursue a master's degree in higher education and sports administration.

Rita Kujawa (New Mexico State University) -- The undergraduate sports medicine major served as a student athletic trainer for 900-plus hours. She traveled to Australia with the New Mexico Coaches Care Program as a student athletic trainer and has been a Girl Scouts leader. Kujawa will pursue a doctorate in motor learning and physical education.

Maricela Oceguera (University of California, San Diego; University of Massachusetts, Amherst) -- Oceguera helped UC San Diego to three national titles in soccer and was a member of the Mexican Women's National Soccer Team. She served as the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee vice-chair and has made presentations at two NCAA Conventions and at a CHAMPS/Life Skills conference. She will study sports management at the graduate level.

Krista Poehler (University of California, San Diego; University of Oregon) -- The two-time co-captain of the basketball team has spent the last year as an athletics department intern and second assistant women's basketball coach. The undergraduate communications and visual arts major will seek a sports marketing degree in graduate school.

Amy Schaeperkoetter (Westminster College; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) -- Schaeperkoetter owns 16 school records in basketball and was named Westminster's Female Athlete of the Year. The physical education major is a Little Brother/Little Sister volunteer and earned the Westminster College Churchill Scholarship. She will study sports administration in graduate school.

Shannon Stanford (Gonzaga University) -- A soccer standout, Stanford was recognized the school's Female Senior Athlete of the Year and earned all-West Coast Conference honorable mention. The business administration major has been a graduate assistant since January working with compliance and academic issues. She will pursue a master's degree in business administration.

Christina M. Tillotson (Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Ball State University) -- The three-time Clarion Female Athlete of the Year won five Division II swimming titles and was a 28-time Division II swimming all-American. The elementary education major and coaching minor was president of the school's student-athlete advisory committee as well. She will pursue a master's degree in athletics administration.

Cheryl M. Wah (Ithaca College; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) -- The sports management major and legal studies and coaching minor has worked as an intern in both the Ithaca and Cornell athletics departments. She's also served at the Women's Sports Foundation. Wah was a Division III second-team all-American in softball and served on the school's student-athlete advisory board and life skills advisory board. She will study for a master's degree in sports administration.