CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina senior Jennifer Thomas has been
selected as the recipient of the Women's Basketball Coaches
Association's (WBCA) 2003 Robin Roberts/WBCA Sports Communication
Scholarship Award. The award is provided by the Women's Institute of
Sports Education (WISE).
The $2,000 scholarship is presented anually to a collegiate women's
basketball player who plans to pursue graduate work and a career in
sports communication or journalism. Previous recipients are St.
Bonaventure's Shannon O'Connell (2001) and Oklahoma's Stacey Dales
(2002).
"It's such an honor to win this scholarship," Thomas said. "Robin
Roberts is a great role model for any woman trying to pursue a career in
journalism, and to win an award with her name on it is really special."
Thomas will receive the award at the Jostens-Berenson Awards Luncheon on
April 5 at the Georgia World Congress Center. The luncheon is held in
conjunction with the NCAA Final Four.
Thomas, a 6-1 forward from Lathrup Village, Mich., has started all 29
games for the Tar Heels this season and is the only UNC player to have
been in for every tipoff. Eleventh-ranked North Carolina is 25-4 on the
season heading into this weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament,
in which the Tar Heels are the No. 2 seed after finishing conference
play 13-3.
A second-year team captain, Thomas is averaging 5.2 points and 4.7
rebounds per game. Following the 2002 season, she was the recipient of
the Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award and the team's Most
Improved award.
On campus, Thomas is active as a member of the Student-Athlete Council
and the Black Student Movement, and serves as an ACT mentor, helping
freshman student-athletes adjust to college life. She is working toward
a double major in journalism and African-American studies and plans to
pursue a career in broadcast journalism after graduating in December.
"Jennifer is an outstanding student-athlete and is very deserving of the
Robin Roberts/WBCA Sports Communication Scholarshop," said Beth Bass,
chief executive officer of the WBCA. "On behalf of the WBCA membership,
I want to congratulate Jennifer and wish her the best in the future."