Ten former Tech student-athletes receive 1A FAR Academic Honors

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech had 10 former student-athletes across eight sports who received 2017 1A FAR Academic Excellence Awards as handed out by the 1A FAR organization, comprised of faculty athletics representatives from NCAA Division I FBS institutions. Tech was second in the ACC, finishing just behind Duke with 15 representatives.

Honorees must have earned a bachelor’s degree the previous year while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.8 upon graduation.

The recently graduated Hokies include volleyball’s Katie Krueger and Lindsey Owens and women’s soccer’s Marie Johnston and Murielle Tiernan, which each had two representatives. Also on the list are Carolina Buscaglia (women’s swimming), Francesca Fusinato (women’s tennis), Erica Hjerpe (women’s track), Abigail Motley (women’s cross country), Daniel Rau (men’s cross country) and Whitney Stevenson (women’s golf).

The faculty athletics representative is a designation created and mandated by the NCAA. FARs must be members of an institution's faculty and may not hold an administrative or coaching position in the athletics department. Duties vary by institution, but typically a FAR serves as a liaison to the athletics department. The 1A FAR is an advocate for the appropriate balance and effective interaction between an institution's academic mission and its intercollegiate athletics program.

Virginia Tech

Buscaglia, Caroline

Political Science/Psychology

Women's Swimming

Fusinato, Francesca

Health, Nutrition, Food and Exercise

Women's Tennis

Hjerpe, Erica

Economics

Women's Track

Johnston, Marie

Health, Nutrition, Food and Exercise

Women's Soccer

Krueger, Kathryn

Geosciences

Volleyball

Motley, Abigail

International Studies

Women's Cross Country

Owens, Lindsey

Biology

Volleyball

Rau, Daniel

Mechanical Engineering

Men's Cross Country

Stevenson, Whitney

Health, Nutrition, Food and Exercise

Women's Golf

Tiernan, Murielle

Residential Enviroments and Design

Women's Soccer

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