Wingate’s Rebecca Brezovec Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Indianapolis, Ind. -- Wingate University senior volleyball standout Rebecca Brezovec (Durham, N.C.) has earned another honor. Brezovec has received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship for excelling academically and athletically throughout her Wingate career.

The NCAA postgraduate scholarship is a one-time grant of $7,500 that is awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports every year. In each of the three seasons there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women. The scholarships are one-time, non-renewable grants. Brezovec will be continuing her education at her alma mater as a graduate student. A Sociology major, she graduated summa cum laude on Saturday, May 12 with a perfect 4.00 GPA

Brezovec was also a headliner on the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® volleyball first team (College Division), as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Brezovec earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® volleyball first team honors for the second year in a row.

Brezovec was voted Academic All-America® of the Year in volleyball for the College Division. Only one student-athlete is selected Academic All-America® of the Year in each sport. She is the second Wingate student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® of the Year honors. Bulldog women's tennis standout Jenna Calomeris was the Academic All-America® of the Year for the At-Large program in 2002.

At Wingate University's recent athletic awards ceremony, Brezovec received two major awards. She shared the Joyce Gragg Pipes Award for Female Athlete of the Year with senior basketball standout Tanetra Barrett (Marshville, N.C.). In addition, Brezovec and senior soccer defender Heather Schlick (Prior Lake, Minn.) earned the C.B. and Beadie Haskins Scholarship Award, presented to the Wingate University senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average.

During the University's 2007 Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 12, Brezovec garnered two awards. She was presented the C. C. Burris Award, given annually to the graduating senior woman who represents the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. In addition, Brezovec, Schlick and three classmates earned the H.K. Helms Award, presented annually to the graduating Wingate senior achieving the highest scholastic average.

Brezovec was the 2006 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. She is a two-time All-SAC middle blocker. Brezovec won the SAC Scholar-Athlete Award for volleyball for the second time in 2006. The SAC Scholar-Athlete Award is a prestigious honor given to only one student-athlete in each of the league's 14 sports. She also received the 2006 South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award, presented annually to one top male and female student-athlete in the conference.

Brezovec and her Wingate senior teammates qualified for the NCAA Division II play-offs three times during their four-year careers. Brezovec was the only representative from the South Atlantic Conference to earn DAKTRONICS Volleyball All-South Region laurels in 2006. She was named second team All-South Region as a senior and a junior.

The student-athletes selected for the Postgraduate scholarship must be enrolled at NCAA member institutions during their final year of eligibility. In addition, the student-athletes must have performed with distinction as members of varsity teams in the sport for which they were nominated. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 (based on a 4.0 scale), be nominated by the faculty athletics representative or designee and intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a part-time or full-time graduate student.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution offering students active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, faith nurturing, career development, community service and study abroad.

Wingate offers more than 37 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs and graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration. In the spring of 2007, Wingate University awarded its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.