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July 1, 2009

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Navy's David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio), the 2009 Patriot League Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was one of six Midshipmen who were named to the 2009 Patriot League Golf Academic Honor Roll, it was announced by the league office Wednesday morning.

To be eligible for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must be a varsity letterwinner, while maintaining a 3.20 grade-point average during the spring semester. Student-athletes representing all four classes are eligible for the award.

The 2009 Patriot League Golf Academic Honor Roll acknowledged 33 golfers from around the league, including Miller who, with a 3.63 grade-point average in quantitative economics, is the fourth different (Brian Crum 2003, Billy Hurley 2004, Chris Renninger 2007 & `08) Navy player to claim the scholar-athlete of the year award for golf, while a Midshipman has been selected for the honor in each of the last three seasons. While Bucknell paced the league with seven student-athletes making the list, Navy followed with six.

Ranked among the top 20 percent of his graduating class in academic order of the merit, Miller was a 2009 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-District II selection for at-large sports. He appeared on the Commandant's List every semester, while earning Superintendent's List mention five times. Additionally, he closed out his academic success by being named to the Dean's List this past spring. Miller was 119th among his classmates in overall order of merit, combining both the academic and military disciplines (61st).

A four-time member of the Patriot League Honor Roll, Miller also capped a stellar career on the course with a strong senior season in which he was the lone player to represent the Mids in each of the program's 10 tournaments this year, along with Navy's Star Match victory over Army in the fall. Miller owned the lowest stroke average on the team with a mark of 76.4 over his 25 rounds or action and turned in the low score in six of those 10 events. A two-time All-Patriot League selection, Miller placed third in this year's Patriot League Championship.

Joining Miller on the Patriot League Honor Roll were fellow 2009 graduates Chip Hardie (Arnold, Md.), Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) and Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.). Hardie made his third straight appearance on the list, boasting a 3.60 GPA during the spring competition season in the field of ocean engineering. He was a four-time member of the Commandant's List, while making three appearances on the Dean's List including this past spring. Hardie saw action in three tournaments for the Midshipmen with his best performance coming at home in the Navy Fall Classic.

Stinson played in nine of the 10 events over the course of the year, closing out his career with a 79.0 stroke average. Like Hardie, his best finish of the year was at the Navy Fall Classic where he turned in a 7-over par 149 to place 24th. The four-year letterwinner is a three-time member of the league's academic honor roll after recording a 3.44 GPA in oceanography this spring. Stinson was named to the Dean's List six times, while also being dubbed a member of the Commandant's List five times.

Wielgus, along with Miller, became Navy's first four-time members of the Patriot League Honor Roll after posting a 3.84 GPA in his final semester of study in economics. The four-time letterwinner was ranked 89th overall in the graduating class, was named to the Commandant's List in seven of the eight semesters, while earning Dean's List mention three times and Superintendent's List kudos four times. Though he was hampered with a hand injury over his last two seasons of play, he did appear in six tournaments his senior year where he recorded a 78.3 stroke average. In his final competition, he tied for third at the Patriot League Championship to garner First-Team All-Patriot League recognition. However, his greatest legacy may be helping lead the Midshipmen to a sudden death victory over Army last fall in the annual Star Match. With the match deadlocked at 5.5 apiece, Wielgus stepped up and sank a 15-foot putt for birdie on the first playoff hole against Army's Matt Krembel to clinch the win for the Mids.

Sophomore Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) was honored for a second straight year for his classroom success with a 3.63 GPA in American Politics & Law. Recognized by the Commandant in all four semesters and the Superintendent in three of the four semesters, Ziska is ranked 95th in his class of 1,100 students. On the links, he turned in a 77.6 stroke average. His season-best 15th-place finish at the Navy Fall Classic lead the Mids' "Blue" squad to a fourth-place team finish.

The final player to garner recognition for the Midshipmen was 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Peter Reilly. Hailing from Merrimack, N.H., Reilly competed in half of Navy's tournament schedule where he finished the year with a 76.5 stroke average. Additionally, he earned a 1-up victory over Army's Adam Renfroe in singles play to help lead the Mids to a win in the Star Match last October. Reilly's best finish was his sixth-place performance at the conference championship where he became the third Navy player to be crowned the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. He made his way onto the league's academic honor roll after recording a 3.31 GPA during the spring semester. Heading into his second year at the Academy, Reilly has selected mechanical engineering as his field of study.

In addition to the Patriot League honor, the Navy golf team, as a whole, was acknowledged by the Naval Academy's Academic Dean, W.C. Miller, as the varsity athletic team earning the highest cumulative quality point rating (CQPR) for academic year. It compiled a 3.289 CQPR, narrowly edging out the women's tennis program, who owned a 3.189. The golf team was awarded the Dean's Sports Award the during Commissioning Week festivities in May.

Navy's 2009 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll Selections
Chip Hardie     Sr.    Ocean Engineering          3.60    Arnold, Md. / Broadneck
David Miller    Sr.    Quantitative Economics     3.63    Chillicothe, Ohio / Chillicothe
Peter Reilly    Fr.    Undeclared                 3.31    Merrimack, N.H. / Bishop Guertin
Eric Stinson    Sr.    Oceanography               3.44    Spotsylvania, Va. / Woodberry Forest
Ryan Wielgus    Sr.    Economics                  3.84    Bethesda, Md. / Winston Churchill
Josh Ziska      So.    American Politics & Law    3.63    Camarillo, Calif. / Oaks Christian

### Go Navy ###