March 25, 2015

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recently announced the winter honorees of the HCAC All-Academic awards for the 2014-15 school year. Thirteen Bluffton University athletes were recognized for their efforts in the classroom. Men's basketball led the way for the Beavers with six honored.

Two juniors and two sophomores from the women's basketball team were recognized for classroom achievement this winter. Abby Jerger (Middletown/Madison) and Taylor Whitaker (Mansfield/Lexington), a First Team All-Heartland Conference selection, were both recognized for the second straight season while Rachel Beining (Ottoville) and Gwen Downing (Kenton) earned Academic All-HCAC honors following their first season of eligibility.

Six men's cagers earned Academic All-HCAC honors following the 2014-15 campaign. Seniors Ryan Ebbeskotte (Delphos/Jefferson), who collected Academic All-HCAC honors for the third straight time, and Zach Rumbaugh (Lima/Senior) were joined by a pair of juniors and two sophomores. Junior Billy Taflinger (Lima/Central Catholic) is a two-time honoree while Mitchel Huffman (Jeromesville/Hillsdale) along with sophomores Trey Elchert (Jackson Center) and Adam Hopkins (Wellington/Keystone) all secured their first Academic All-HCAC award.

Juniors Hannah Krull (Lewisburg/Tri-County North) and Aron Gibson (Caledonia/River Valley) and sophomore Anna Hairston (Mansfield/Ontario) got it done in the classroom as well as on the track. It marks the second consecutive season that Krull has been named Academic All-HCAC.

To be named All-Academic HCAC, a student-athlete must have completed a full year at the institution, be a varsity athlete and carry a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 through the semester preceding the end of the season.                        

Bluffton University is a liberal arts residential campus with 39 undergraduate programs, adult degree completion programs in organizational management and human resource management and master's degree programs in education, organizational management and business administration. Founded in 1899 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, Bluffton is located in northwest Ohio. The institution has a growing enrollment of more than 1,100 students and 14 NCAA Division III athletics teams. Bluffton's hundred-year legacy is expressed today in its enduring values of discovery, community, respect and service that are woven into the academic program and campus life. Bluffton students go into the world prepared for life as well as for their chosen vocation.

-BEAVERS-