Four Virginia Student-Athletes Earn ACC Postgraduate Honors
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Feb. 10, 2016
GREENSBORO, N.C.-Four Virginia student-athletes have been honored with 2016 ACC Postgraduate Awards, as announced Wednesday (Feb. 10) by ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Chelsea Adams (rowing), Peyton Chaney (women’s track and field) and Haley Durmer (women’s swimming and diving) are part of a list of 43 ACC student-athletes who have been selected for the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award. Makenzy Doniak (women’s soccer) was one of nine ACC student-athletes to earn an honorary award.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to select student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community. An additional nine student-athletes who plan to enter a professional career in their chosen sport were named honorary recipients.
The student-athletes will be honored at the annual Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Luncheon hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis Club and presented by ESPN on April 13 at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel Imperial Ballroom in Greensboro.
Adams, a native of Chesapeake, Va., is a two-time ACC champion for the Virginia rowing program. She rowed as a member of the Second Varsity Eight that captured the 2013 and 2015 ACC Championships and competed twice at the NCAA Championships in the same boat, placing seventh in 2013 and 12th in 2015. Adams is a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll (2013-15). She has been a part of three ACC Championship squads (2013-15) and three-consecutive fifth-place team finishes at the NCAA Championships. In 2015, she rowed with the Varsity Eight in the prestigious Windermere Cup.
Chaney, a native of Belleville, Ill., is a four-event NCAA East Preliminary qualifier for the UVA track and field team. She is a member of two Virginia school-record relays, including the outdoor 4×100-meter relay and the indoor 4×400-meter relay. Chaney was named to the All-ACC Academic Indoor team in 2013 and to the All-ACC Academic Outdoor team in 2013 and 2014. Chaney holds the UVA freshman record in the outdoor 200 meters and ranks in the top-10 all-time at Virginia in four events, including third in the indoor 200 meters.
Durmer, a native of Decatur, Ga., is a two-year NCAA Championship qualifier for the Virginia swimming and diving team. She was a Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American in 2014 and 2015, was named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2013 and 2014 and was a three-year ACC Academic Honor Roll selection from 2013-15. Durmer is a six-time championship finalist at the ACC Championships and a nine-time scorer at the conference meet. She has been a member of three ACC Championship squads from 2013-15.
Doniak, a native of Chino Hills, Calif., was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers’ women’s soccer team. The most prolific scorer in Virginia history, Doniak set the school record for goals (64) and points (164). Named the 2015 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Doniak is a three-time NSCAA All-America selection and a two-time semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. She is a four-time selection to the All-ACC Academic Team for women’s soccer and the most recent student-athlete to be named the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s soccer.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan Award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver and Bob James, as well as Gene Corrigan, the first three ACC commissioners. The league’s first commissioner, James H. Weaver, served the conference from 1954-70 after a stint as the Director of Athletics at Wake Forest University. His early leadership and uncompromising integrity are largely responsible for the excellent reputation enjoyed by the ACC today.
Robert C. James, a former University of Maryland football player, was named commissioner in 1971 and served in that capacity for 16 years. During his tenure, the league continued to grow in stature and became recognized as a national leader in athletics and academics, winning 23 national championships and maintaining standards of excellence in the classroom.
Eugene F. Corrigan assumed his role as the third full-time commissioner on September 1, 1987, and served until August of 1997. During Corrigan’s tenure, ACC schools captured 30 NCAA championships and two national football titles.