PerezScoresNCASAward

12/15/2011

ABILENE

AbileneChristianjuniorstudent‐athleteCecileePerezofthewomen'sbasketballteamrecentlywasrecognizedasasecondteamhonoreeforthe2011AcademicMomentumAward,whichhasbeenpresentedannuallysince1995byTheScholarBallerPrograminconjunctionwiththeNationalConsortiumforAcademicsandSports. Atotalof49student‐athletesnationwidewerechosenfortheaward,whichencompassesallNCAAchampionshipsportsinDivisionsI,IIandIII. NomineesfortheAcademicMomentumAwardwereselectedbasedoneachstudent‐athlete'sacademicimprovementandtheimpacteachoftheiracademicperformanceshadonhisorherclassmates,teammates,academicadvisorsandprofessors. Atotalof17maleandfemaleawardrecipientsfromNCASpartnerschoolwereselectedforthefirstteam,16recipientscomprisedthesecondteamand16morewereselectedtothethirdteam.Therewere89nominationsreceivedfrom55differentcollegesanduniversities. AnnVarner,ACU'sDirectorofAthleticsAcademicServices,nominatedPerezfordisplayingsignificantacademicimprovementsincethestartofherfirstsemester.Perezisasociologymajorwithacriminaljusticeemphasis. “I'mveryproudofCecileeforbeingabletoovercomesomeearlychallenges,”Varnersaid,“whilemaintainingagreat,positiveattitudethathasallowedhertosucceedbothonthecourtandintheclassroom.” Perezappearedinall27gamesforACUasasophomorein2010‐11,averaging6.9pointsand2.4reboundspergamewith54assists,12blocksand21steals.Theyearpriorsheregistered10minutespergamefortheWildcatswitha2.7ppgaverage. ThoughsevengamesthisseasonPerezisamongtheteam'sleaderswith13assistsandfourblocks,andhaspostedpointandreboundpergameaveragesof4.3and2.9. AformerfirstteamAll‐SouthTexasselection,PerezgraduatedfromGregoryPortlandHighSchoolin2009.