MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin saw a total of 54 student-athletes named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for the 2015-16 athletic season, as announced by the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday. 

The list included 915 students from all 14 institutions and 38 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year. The 2015-16 class of Distinguished Scholar Award recipients includes at least 147 students who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term.

Wisconsin had 18 sports represented on the distinguished scholars list, including men's basketball (2); women's basketball (2); men's cross country (2); women's cross country (2); football (5);men's golf (1); men's ice hockey (1); women's ice hockey (1); men's rowing (5); women's rowing (4); women's lightweight rowing (2); men's soccer (1); women's soccer (1); softball (4); men's swimming & diving (4); women's swimming and diving (4); men's tennis (2); women's tennis (2); men's track & field (3); women's track & field (5).

Four Badger honorees from four different sports carried a 4.0 cumulative GPA for the 2015-16 year: Taylor Kuhn from women's basketball, Dan Voltz from football, Anna Knutson from women's rowing and Sydney Mcginnis from women's soccer.

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.

A complete list of Wisconsin's honorees can be found below:
Name, Year, Major, Hometown

Men's Basketball
Jackson Bax, So., Undecided, Frankfort, Ill.           
Matt Ferris, Jr., Business: Finance, Investment And Banking, Appleton, Wis.      
 
Women's Basketball
Michala Johnson, GR, Human Development And Family Studies, Bellwood, Ill.         
Taylor Kuhn, Sr., Kinesiology/Pre-Med, Medford, Wis.       
 
Men's Cross Country
Joe McAsey, Jr., Marketing, Operation And Technology Management, Menomonee Falls, Wis.              
Malachy Schrobilgen, Jr., Political Science, History, Oak Park, Ill.   
 
Women's Cross Country
Lianna Mack, Jr., Kinesiology, Sun Prairie, Wis.     
Colette Richter, So., Environmental Sciences, Agronomy   Mountain Lakes, N.J.      
 
Football
Bart Houston, Sr., Kinesiology, Dublin, Calif.         
Tyler Marz, Gr., Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, Springfield, Minn.            
Zander Neuville, So., Biology, Waupaca, Wis.       
Mark Saari, So., Pre-Kinesiology, Montreal, Wis.  
Dan Voltz, Sr., Kinesiology, Barrington, Ill.             
 
Men's Golf
Eddie Wajda III , So., Pre-Business, Brookfield, Wis.            
 
Men's Hockey
Adam Miller, Sr., Biology, Long Grove, Ill.              
 
Women's Hockey
Kim Drake, Sr., Life Sciences Communication, Mosinee, Wis. 
 
Women's Lightweight Rowing
Mirha Girt, So., Molecular Biology, Vancouver, B.C.
Eleanor Martin, So., Finance, Investment & Banking, Evanston, Ill.
 
Men's Rowing
Jefferson Chan, So., Chemical Engineering, Lisle, Ill.          
Alex Idarraga, Jr., Botany, Milwaukee, Wis.
Patrick Muto, Sr., Economics, Barrington, Ill.        
George Perrett, Sr., Psychology, Ann Arbor, Mich.              
Tom Walker, So., Agricultural Business, Princeton, N.J.     
 
Women's Rowing
Alexa Callahan, Sr., Nursing, Madison, Wis.           
Margo Grover, Sr., Nutritional Sciences, Beloit, Wis.          
Lily Hansen, So., Communicative Disorders, San Anselmo, Calif.    
Anna Knutson, Sr., French, Madison, Wis.
 
Men's Soccer
Isaac Schlenker, Jr., Mathematics, Milwaukee, Wis.           
 
Women's Soccer
Sydney McGinnis, So., Journalism, Park Ridge, Ill. 
 
Softball
Katie Christner, Sr., Legal Studies, Tinley Park, Ill. 
Chloe Miller, Jr.  Kinesiology, Bettendorf, Iowa     
Taylor-Paige Stewart, Sr., Neurobiology, Pre-Med, Calabasas, Calif.           
Ashley Van Zeeland, Sr.,  Agricultural Business Management, Kaukauna, Wis.          
 
Men's Swimming & Diving
Daniel Cech, Sr., Nuclear Engineering, Houston, Texas      
Sean Maloney, Jr., Business Operations And Technology Management, Canberra, Australia
Todd McCarthy, So., Mechanical Engineering, Bellevue, Wash.      
Harrison Tran, Sr., Economics, Frisco, Texas          
 
Women's Swimming & Diving
Madison Blaydes, Jr., Psychology, Vernon Hills, Ill.             
Dana Grindall, Jr., Human Development And Family Studies, Orange, Conn.              
Madeline Hazle, Sr., Biology And History Of Science, Medicine And Technology, Kingwood, Texas
Ashley Peterson, Jr., Human Development And Family Studies, Highlands Ranch, Colorado  
 
Men's Tennis
Elliott Sprecher, Jr., Philosophy, Eau Claire, Wis.  
John Zordani, Jr., Business Management, Lake Forest, Ill. 
 
Women's Tennis
Maria Avgerinos, Jr., Environmental Studies, Elmhurst, Ill.
Kelsey Grambeau, So., Kinesiology, Dallas, Texas 
 
Men's Track & Field
Tim Guthrie, Jr., Biochemistry, Batavia, Ill.    
Morgan McDonald, So., Undecided, Sydney, Australia       
Tyson Miehe, So., Physical Education, Darlington, Wis.     
 
Women's Track & Field
Gabi Anzalone, Sr., Rehabilitation Psychology, Grand Blanc, Mich.       
Hanna Barton, So., Biomedical Engineering, McFarland, Wis.         
Brianna Bower, Sr., Nursing, Stoughton, Wis.       
Kelsey Card, Sr., Human Development And Family Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, Plainview, Ill.     
Grace Meurer, Sr., Art, Fond du Lac, Wis.
 
Wrestling
Andrew Crone, Jr., Finance And Management And Entrepreneurship, Delafield, Wis.