April 13, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Lisa Willett, a senior swing player on the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team, has been named to the Second Annual Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team.

Willett, a Santa Barbara native, is majoring in religious studies and maintains a grade point average of 3.75. She has also earned Big West Conference All-Academic honors three times, and was a Verizon Academic All-District performer as a junior in 2002-03. On the court, Willett established a new school record for career games played with 129, and buried 90 three-pointers as a Gaucho, fifth-best all-time.

She joins nine other women's basketball players in this prestigious group from the nation's NCAA Division I-AAA institutions, which do not sponsor football. Additionally, University of the Pacific senior guard Corinne Wong was selected as the Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

A 10-player men's team was also announced by this special Review Committee of Division I-AAA athletics directors, which includes UCSB's Gary Cunningham. Each nominee was required to have a minimum 3.20 GPA and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials.

Below is the complete Division I-AAA Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team:

Name			Institution		Year	GPA	Major
Sara Esidore		Quinnipiac		Sr. 	3.78	Computer Information Systems
Sarah Kustok		DePaul			Sr.	3.80	Communications
Ann Mimm		Niagara		Sr.	3.85	Education
Genny Mueller	Bradley		Jr.	3.91	Health Science
Bridget Murray	Hartford		Sr.	3.80	Management
Laura Spanheimer	Creighton		Jr.	3.74	Exercise Science
Colleen Toetz		Niagara		Sr.	3.72	Biology
Maria Viall		Wisc.-Milwaukee	Sr.	3.77	Journalism & Mass Communications
Lisa Willett		UC Santa Barbara	Sr.	3.75	Religious Studies
Corinne Wong		Pacific			Sr.	3.96	Environmental Studies & Geology