April 30, 2015 SPRINGFIELD -- A total of 175 Missouri State University student-athletes were recognized during the fifth annual Maroon and White Honors Banquet and Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony held Thursday April 30 at Hammons Student Center on the Springfield campus. The student-athletes were recognized for achieving a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade-point average for all semesters at Missouri State.
This year's crop of academic honorees represent better than 42 percent of MSU's student-athletes currently participating in its 17 intercollegiate programs.
The event was underwritten each year by the The Bank of Missouri, the presenting sponsor for the annual Bank of Missouri Eagle Awards for the top graduating student-athletes holding the highest cumulative grade point averages. The recipients of this year's awards were: Mark Karlsen, a senior golfer from Alleroed, Denmark majoring in Business; and Andrea Beaty, a volleyball standout from Pacific, Mo., majoring in Psychology. Both student-athletes will graduate this May with summa cum laude honors.
The ceremony also included recognition by the student-athletes of their professors, faculty and academic mentors in attendance for their hard work and dedication to Missouri State's student-athletes. Additional remarks and congratulations were offered by Missouri State University Provost Dr. Frank Einhellig.
Significant individual academic achievers were also highlighted, including Capital One/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American Schaffitzel and women's basketball MVC Elite 18 Award recipient Kenzie Williams. Missouri Valley Conference President's Council Academic Excellence Awards were also bestowed on five MSU performers, including Karlsen, Beaty, baseballer Dylan Becker, softball third baseman Heather Duckworth and trackster Haley Scott.
Likewise, the Mid-American Conference recognized three MSU student-athletes with MAC Presidential Awards for graduating seniors with a 3.50 cumulative GPA or higher. Swimmers Isaac McKnight and Max Pratt along with field hockey honoree Laura Tavares earned these prestigious awards from the MAC.
The final honor of the night, The Highest Team GPA Awards, were presented to the Missouri State men's swimming and diving (3.44 GPA) and women's soccer (3.53 GPA) programs.
 The complete list of individual honorees by sport is as follows:
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