DePaul University Athletics
Sarah Kustok Earns Scholar-Athlete Honors
4/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO – DePaul senior forward Sarah Kustok was recently named to second annual Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team. As a junior, Kustok was named to the inaugural I-AAA Scholar-Athlete team. DePaul is one of 90 NCAA Division I institutions in the I-AAA membership.
The senior is one of nine student-athletes on the scholar-athlete team recognized for their efforts both on the court and in the classroom. Kustok is set to graduate from DePaul with a degree in Communications and a Socioloy minor while carrying a cumulative 3.80 grade point average. In 2003-04, she started all 30 games while averaging 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Kustok has been the cornerstone of DePaul’s back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams while leading the club to a combined 45-17 record in that span – the second-highest two-season victory total in school history.
Kustok is one of three student-athletes making their second appearance on the I-AAA Scholar-Athlete team. Sara Esidore of Quinnipiac and Niagara’s Ann Mimm were also on the inaugural team last year. DePaul men’s basketball player Drake Diener was named for the second straight year to the men’s I-AAA Scholar-Athlete team. A year ago, he picked up honorable mention honors. Corinne Wond of the University of the Pacific and Adam Mark of Belmont University were named the women’s and men’s I-AAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
“We are very proud of these student-athletes,” said Pat Meiser McKnett, coordinator of the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee and athletics director at the University of Hartford. “They represent the best of Division I-AAA.”
Now in its third year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association’s mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 90 NCAA Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. The Association is administered by NACDA, which, now in its 39th year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,150 athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Through its series of management seminars, clinics and workshops and publication of the bi-monthly magazine Athletics Administration, NACDA offers educational opportunities to its members. More than 1,200 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, the Association operates the NACDA Directors’ Cup program, which honors the all-sports champion in each of the NCAA Divisions – I, II and III – and the NAIA, for a total of four trophies.
I-AAA Women’s Scholar-Athlete Team
Name, School, Class (GPA, Major)
Sara Esidore, Quinnipiac, Sr. (3.78, Computer Information Systems)
Sarah Kustok, DePaul, Sr. (3.80, Communications)
Ann Mimm, Niagara, Sr. (3.85, Education)
Genny Mueller, Bradley, Jr. (3.91, Health Science)
Bridget Murray, Hartford, Sr. (3.80, Management)
Laura Spanheimer, Creighton, Jr. (3.74, Exercise Science)
Colleen Toetz, Niagara, Sr. (3.72, Biology)
Maria Viall, UW-Milwaukee, Sr. (3.77, Journalism & Communications)
Lisa Willett, UC Santa Barbara, Sr. (3.75, Religious Studies)
Corinne Wong, Pacific, Sr. (3.96, Environmental Studies & Geology)
