BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University had 29 student-athletes earn the prestigious Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Faculty Athletics Representative's Scholar-Athlete award for the 2021-22 academic year.
 
The GNAC Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Barnes and Noble College, capped another historic season of academic awards and honors for WWU student-athletes.
 
In addition to the 29 FAR award recipients, a record 133 student-athletes earned GNAC Academic All-Conference honors during the academic year. WWU has now had 108 GNAC FAR Award winners over the last four years.
 
Presented annually to the most outstanding student-athletes at each GNAC institution, the FAR Award honors student-athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or better. All student-athletes, including redshirts and true freshmen, listed on any squad list at a GNAC full-member school, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championship sport, are eligible for the award. A near-record 351 GNAC student-athletes, 95 men and 256 women, were recognized with FAR awards with 195 as repeat selections.
 
2021-22 WWU Athletics Academic Pride Points:

• 29 FAR Award Winners
• 133 GNAC Academic All-Conference honors (school record)
• 13 of 15 programs finished with team GPA over 3.00
• Won the NCAA President's Award for Academic Excellence (90% Academic Success Rate)

 
WWU's 29 selections featured 22 women and seven men's student-athletes. Rower Maddie Bangasser and volleyball player Tess Biscup each became five-time FAR Award winners, and Claire Henninger (Women's Soccer), Aliyah Dawkins (Track & Field) and Anna Maracich (Volleyball) won their fourth awards. Junior Gus Diehl and sophomore Alessandro Tomasi of the men's soccer program each earned their fourth career FAR Awards to highlight WWU's selections.
 
Here is a list of the 29 WWU student-athletes honored with 2021-22 FAR Awards from the GNAC:
 

Women	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
Maddie Bangasser*****	Rowing	Kinesiology	Sr.	3.91	Sammamish, WA
Drew Baty	Soccer	Recreation Management & Leadership	Fr.	3.85	Larkspur, CO
Tess Biscup*****	Volleyball	Business Administration	Jr.	3.95	Duvall, WA
Zola Carbone**	Soccer	Manufacturing & Supply Chain Mgt.	Fr.	3.85	Bellingham, WA
Sophia Collins	Cross Country	International Business	So.	3.85	Kirkland, WA
Aliyah Dawkins****	Track & Field	Behavioral Neuroscience & Biochemistry	Jr.	3.96	North Mankato, MN
Tatum Dow***	Softball	Health Education	Sr.	3.91	Issaquah, WA
Grace Eversaul***	Soccer	Recreational Management & Leadership	Sr.	3.90	Vancouver, WA
Sofie Gard	XC/Track & Field	Kinesiology	Fr.	4.00	Edmonds, WA
Maddy Grandbois	Basketball	Interdisciplinary Studies	Fr.	4.00	Marysville, WA
Claire Henninger****	Soccer	Kinesiology	So.	3.93	Sequim, WA
Olivia Lee**	Soccer	Elementary Education – Art	Jr.	3.97	Marysville, WA
Allison Lepp***	Soccer	Recreational Management & Leadership	Fr.	3.96	Minot, ND
Lauren Lo	Softball	Master's in Accounting	Sr.	4.00	Issaquah, WA
Morgan MacIntyre**	Rowing	Environmental Studies	So.	3.93	Camas, WA
Anna Maracich****	Volleyball	Behavioral Neuroscience	So.	3.97	Auburn, WA
Delphine Maurer	XC/Track & Field	Biology	Fr.	4.00	San Diego, CA
Chloe Roetcisoender***	Volleyball	Education	Jr.	3.91	Duvall, WA
Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks***	Rowing	Political Science	Jr.	4.00	Anchorage, AK
Amanda Short	Track & Field	Kinesiology	Sr.	4.00	Lebanon, OR
Chloe Unflat**	Soccer	Design	Fr.	3.92	Portland, OR
Anna VanderYacht	Volleyball	Elementary Education	Fr.	3.92	Lynden, WA
Men	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
Gus Diehl****	Soccer	Business Administration	Jr.	3.94	Bellingham, WA
Kale Engebretsen***	Track & Field	Mathematics	So.	4.00	Enumclaw, WA
Danny Fazio**	Soccer	English Literature	Jr.	3.86	Bellingham, WA
Ryan Greenwalt***	Track & Field	Computer Science	So.	3.92	Kirkland, WA
Brian Le	Track & Field	Kinesiology	Fr.	4.00	Tumwater, WA
Andrew Oslin	Track & Field	Communication Studies	So.	3.94	Puyallup, WA
Alessandro Tomasi****	Soccer	Spanish/International Business	So.	3.94	Bellingham, WA
* = Number of FAR Awards during collegiate career

 
A faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty at a NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution's faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
 
The role of the FAR is "to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics."
 
Dr. Bruce Larson is in his second term as WWU's Faculty Athletic Representative.
 

• 2 National Runner-Up Finishes (Women's Basketball, Rowing)
• 3 West Region Championships (Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Rowing)
• 7 GNAC Team Titles
• 8 All-Americans
• 11 Teams Advanced to NCAA Postseason
• 45 All-Region Awards
• 56 GNAC Player of the Week Awards
• 100 All-GNAC Awards
• 133 GNAC All-Academic Honors

Western Washington University is a four-year public institution located in Bellingham, Washington, featuring over 300 student-athletes that compete for 15 intercollegiate athletic teams at the NCAA Division II level and in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU Athletics has finished in the top 50 in the NCAA II Learfield Directors' Cup standings in 16 of the past 17 years, and in the top 20 in eight of the last 13 years (no award in 2019-20 or 2020-21). WWU's programs have won 11 team national championships, most recently the 2016 women's soccer team and the 2017 women's rowing team. Outside of competition. WWU's student-athletes have compiled an academic success at 90% in four of the last five years, earning the NCAA's President's Award for Academic Excellence four times. 2021-22 was another banner season for the Vikings, earning the GNAC All-Sports Trophy for the 13th time while capturing seven conference titles. Women's Basketball and Rowing led the way with national runner-up finishes, volleyball advanced to the Final Four for the third time in the last six seasons, women's soccer advanced to play in its sixth consecutive West Regional Final (Sweet 16), the men's track & field program swept the indoor and outdoor GNAC Championships and the men's and women's golf team both captured GNAC titles.
  For more information on WWU's 15 varsity sports programs, visit WWUVikings.com. Fans and alumni can also track all the teams via social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @WWUAthletics.