Villanova University

Feb. 12, 2013

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Senior golfer Michael Kania (Haverford, Pa.) has been named Villanova's 2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters Male Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarship award winner, as announced by the BIG EAST Conference on Tuesday afternoon. As an institutional award winner, Kania is the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship that may be applied towards graduate studies.

Kania, a senior co-captain of the golf team, has had a breakout year on the course, in the classroom and in the community. He was most recently named the BIG EAST Men's Golf Player of the Month in October of 2012 and recorded the second individual championship of his career at the Lehigh Invitational, carding rounds of 68-75--143 (-1 ) in Fall 2012. He continued to have a breakout Fall campaign finishing tied for second place overall and first on the team at the CHAMPS/Patriot Intercollegiate and tied for third place overall at the Adams Cup of Newport. Overall, he's averaged a 72.46 through 13 rounds for the 2012-13 season.

As standout in the classroom, Kania maintains a 3.53 cumulative GPA as a communications major and serves as the President of Villanova's Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Notre Dame soccer standout Grant Van De Casteele was named the overall BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference and American Eagle Outfitters during the 2012-13 academic year. Thirty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST's 15 member institutions) will be named as the winners of the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and an American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards
School Name Sport(s) Major
Cincinnati Chase Beckman Track & Field Finance
Connecticut Kevin Smith Track & Field Doctor of Physical Therapy
DePaul John Pavelko Golf Public Relations/Advertising
Georgetown Benjamin Furcht Cross Country/Track & Field Mathematics
Marquette Kyle Winter Track & Field Finance & Marketing
Notre Dame Grant Van De Casteele Soccer Finance
Pittsburgh Adam Maczewski Swimming & Diving Information Science
Providence Wilder Arboleda Soccer Political Science
Rutgers Jeff Melillo Baseball Finance
St. John's Sean Hagan Baseball M.S., Accounting
Seton Hall Jon Prosinski Baseball Accounting
USF Luke Sager Football M.S., Entrepreneurship in Applied Technologies
Syracuse Ryan Nassib Football M.S., Accounting
Villanova Michael Kanla Golf Communication

American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
Year Name, School, Sport
1985 Joey David, Pittsburgh, Basketball
1986 John Prior, Connecticut, Track & Field
1987 Harold Jensen, Villanova, Basketball
1988 Dave Echeverria, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1989 Chris Craft, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1990 Pat O'Kelly, Seton Hall, Soccer
1991 David Honor, St. John's, Baseball
1992 Steve Holman, Georgetown, Track & Field
1993 Hector Zamora, Seton Hall, Soccer
1994 Sebastien Goulet, Swimming, Syracuse
1995 Kevin Lyles, Seton Hall, Track & Field
1996 Gil Kovalski, Miami, Tennis
1997 Christian Fogarazzo, St. John's, Track & Field
1998 Errol Williams, Notre Dame, Track & Field
1999 Angelo Ciminiello, Providence, Baseball
2000 Scott VanEpps, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2001 Chris Hamblin, Boston College, Soccer
2002 Gregory Strohmann, Seton Hall, Soccer
2003 Casey Schmidt, Boston College, Soccer
2004 Chris Wingert, St. John's, Soccer
2005 Guy Melamed, Boston College, Soccer
2006 Trevor O'Grady, Rutgers, Track & Field
2007 Drew Eckman, Villanova, Track & Field
2008 Jeremy Stultz, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2009 Zak Boggs, USF, Soccer
2010 Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, Soccer
2011 Brian Karalunas, Villanova, Lacrosse
2012 Eric Finan, Cincinnati, Cross Country/Track & Field
2013 Grant Van De Casteele, Notre Dame, Soccer