FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno today announced the league's annual recipients of postgraduate scholarships.

"The Atlantic 10 is proud to be able to provide opportunities for its student-athletes to continue their educations," says Bruno. "These young women and men are perfect examples of what college athletics is all about - attaining excellence academically and athletically. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors."

The Atlantic 10 annually awards four postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes who express an interest in continuing their education. This year's recipients are Brandi Cross and Kaila Holtz of Massachusetts, Terry McNelis of Duquesne, and St. Bonaventure's Borut Poje. This is the seventh season that a total of four recipients have been selected.

Cross, who was named the Verizon Academic All-American of the Year for softball, batted .318 and set a UMass record with 11 home runs. She also had seven doubles, drove in 37 runs, scored 30 runs, and posted a .583 slugging percentage in earning All-Conference honors at first base. In addition, she garnered a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team for helping lead the Minutewomen to their ninth straight Atlantic 10 title. Off the field, the Atlantic 10 Softball Student-Athlete of the Year had a 3.92 grade point average as a psychology major. The native of Diamond Bar, CA is a 2003 first-team Academic All-America and a three-time Verizon Academic All-District first-team selection. She is a three-time Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team member and has been a member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's and UMass Athletic Director honor roll each semester. She will enroll at Boston College to pursue a Master's in education this fall.

Her teammate Holtz earned first-team Academic All-America honors after being named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row. She kept a 3.82 GPA as an exercise science major. In 2003, Holtz was 23-9 with a conference-low 1.09 ERA. She recorded 27 complete games, 10 solo shutouts, two combined shutouts, and two no-hitters that included a perfect game. Holtz allowed 134 hits and walked just 33 while fanning 200 batters in 205.2 innings. She yielded 32 earned runs and held opponents to a mere .180 batting average. At the plate, Holtz hit .284. She collected 40 hits, including eight doubles and five home runs. Two of her four-baggers were grand slams. Holtz drove in 30 runs and scored 10 times. She also walked on 15 occasions and maintained a .447 slugging percentage. The North Vancouver, BC native is a member of the Golden Key Honors Society and will pursue her postgraduate degree in exercise science at UMass this fall.

McNelis, the Atlantic 10's Co-Student-Athlete of the Year in men's soccer, led a Duquesne defense which was the primary reason the Dukes went 13-3-5 and finished second in the Atlantic 10 with a 7-1-3 league ledger. The keeper from Reading, PA was between the pipes for each of those games, registering five shutouts en route to second-team All-Conference honors. His 1.19 goals against average was second in the Atlantic 10, while his 97 saves were good for six. He also posted a .724 save percentage. In the classroom, McNelis compiled a 3.64 grade point average in physical therapy. McNelis is a third-team Academic All-American and has been on the Dean's List every semester at Duquesne. He will attend Duquesne and pursue his Master's in physical therapy.

Poje, who won five gold medals (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 medley relay) at the 2003 Atlantic 10 Men's Swimming & Diving Championship to help St. Bonaventure to a second-place finish, earned his second consecutive Atlantic 10 Men's Swimming & Diving Student-Athlete of the Year honor in 2003. Poje is the winner of 11 gold medals over his four Atlantic 10 Championships. The native of Ljubljana, Slovenia had a 3.35 grade point average as a management and business information systems major and is a member of the Dean's List at St. Bonaventure. He will pursue an MBA degree, beginning this fall.

0382/6-16-03