May 18, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Osayi Osunde and Meghan Morese were named the 2009 Villanova Senior Scholar-Athletes of the year. The awards were announced on May 14 at the annual senior student-athlete banquet that was held in the Connelly Center on Villanova's campus. Osunde was a linebacker on the football team, while Morese was a co-captain and catcher on the softball team.

Osunde earned a Psychology degree and will enroll in the Human Resource Development Masters Degree program at Villanova. He was named to the first team All-CAA in 2008 and recorded 75 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one blocked kick and one quarterback sack. Osunde led Villanova in tackles in both 2007 and 2008 and was a third team All-CAA honoree in 2007. He is also a CAA All-Academic team member. Osunde leaves Villanova with 160 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

Morese earned an Electrical Engineering degree from Villanova. She owns the school record for career homeruns with 34 and became just the 10th player in program history to record 200 career hits. She leaves Villanova fourth all-time with 219. In 2009, Morese led the Wildcats with a .348 batting average, seven homeruns, 32 RBI and 10 doubles. She was a 2008 second team All-Northeast Region selection and was most recently named to the first team All-Mideast Region squad. She has a .323 career batting average with 47 doubles, 34 homeruns and 137 RBI. Morese is a three-time All BIG EAST Academic All-Star selection.

The Senior Scholar-Athlete Award is given to the top male and female Villanova senior student-athlete who excels both in athletics and in the classroom. The winner must have at least a 3.2 GPA, in addition to being a significant contributor to her/her team.