Social Ecology student-athletes earn Big West conference academic honors
Seventeen UC Irvine student-athletes with School of Social Ecology majors earned Highest Honors on the 2023-24 Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll.
The NCAA Division I conference reserves Highest Honors on its annual honor roll for student-athletes having an institutional cumulative grade-point average between 3.51 and 4.00 for the academic year.
The entire contingent of criminology, law & society (CLS) majors on the women's tennis team earned Highest Honors: Asha Gidwani, Nour Khayat, Cydney Yamamoto, Haily Huynh (who double majors in psychological science) and recent graduate Mia Totah.
All except Khayat also earned Scholar Athlete distinction for ’23-’24 from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Totah has been named to the ITA list three consecutive times while Gidwani, Huynh and Yamamoto have now earned the honor for two straight seasons.
Three CLS majors on the women’s soccer team also earned Big West Highest Honors: Jenika Davis, NCAA Woman of the Year nominee Alyssa Moore and Autumn Thompkins. So did their teammate, psychological science major and recent cum laude graduate Halli Stewart.
Three recent CLS graduates and Highest Honors recipients (with their sports) are Nevaeh Dean (women’s basketball), double major in urban studies Mario Anaya (men’s soccer) and Jensin Bugelli (women’s water polo), who graduated magna cum laude in CLS and cum laude in English.
The Highest Honors also went to baseball pitcher Nick Rincover, who intends to complete his master’s in CLS in June 2025.
Cross-country/track & field athletes who earned Highest Honors (and their respective majors) include Tia Akiaten (social ecology), Stella Knobbe (psychological science) and recent graduates Hana Nip (psychological science) and Jarel Sayles (urban studies).
The 2023-24 Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll also includes With Honors distinction for student-athletes with an institutional cumulative GPA between 3.21 and 3.50 for the academic year. The School of Social Ecology is represented by: Finnegan Wall, baseball (social ecology); Joshua Lane, men’s golf (CLS); Joe Karlous, men’s volleyball (psychological science); and Madi O’Hara, women’s water polo (CLS).
Those within the GPA range of 3.00-3.20 are categorized as Honor Roll recipients. The School of Social Ecology is represented by: Will Bermudez, baseball (psychological science); Rafael Espinoza, men’s soccer (social ecology); Jake Means, men’s soccer (CLS); Aryel Coats, indoor track (psychological science); Tati Fung, women’s soccer (CLS); and Adrian Grisham, women’s water polo (social ecology).
UC Irvine had 234 student-athletes make the 2023-24 Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll. Of those on the list, 112 were awarded Highest Honors, 74 individuals earned With Honors and 48 were in the Honor Roll category.
A total of 2,409 student-athletes from 11 member institutions were recognized across all 19 Big West sponsored sports.
Student-athletes named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll were on a team roster and eligible for competition in a Big West sport at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.