Three Virginia Student-Athletes Earn ACC Postgraduate Honors
Feb. 28, 2018
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.â€Ã¢Ã¢â€š¬ÂThree Virginia student-athletes have been honored with 2018 ACC Postgraduate Awards, as announced Wednesday (Feb. 29) by ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Corey Johnson (women’s swimming and diving) and Holly Sullivan (women’s track) are a part of a list of 52 student-athletes who have been selected for the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award. Veronica Latsko (women’s soccer) is one of three ACC student-athletes to be named a Thacker Award honoree.
The student-athletes will be honored at the annual Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Luncheon presented by ESPN on April 11. The luncheon will be hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis Club at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel Imperial Ballroom in Greensboro, N.C.
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 $6,000 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 Thacker Award, which originated in 2005, is awarded in honor of the late Jim and Pat Thacker of Charlotte, North Carolina. Jim Thacker was the primary play-by-play announcer for the ACC’s first television network. Recipients of the award must demonstrate outstanding performance both in athletic competition and in the classroom and intend to further their education through postgraduate studies at an ACC institution.
Johnson, a native of Ambler, Pa., ranks third in Cavalier history on the 3-meter board with a score of 331.72 and seventh in the 1-meter board with a score of 282.07. She competed at the 2016 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, advancing to the national meet after placing fourth at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships with a score of 225.95. At this year’s ACC Championships, Johnson finished 12th in the platform dive and 15th in the 3-meter dive. She is a three-time member of the ACC Honor Roll (2015-2017).
Latsko, a native of Venetia, Pa., is a two-time All-ACC honoree. Over her career, Latsko has tallied 26 goals and 14 assists, totaling 66 career points. She has recorded nine game-winning goals for the Cavaliers, including five game-winning shots during the 2017 season. Latsko led Virginia to a 2017 NCAA Championship Sweet 16 appearance, pacing the team in goals scored (8) and in points (20) with the addition of four assists. She was a 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a two-time All-ACC Academic team selection. Additionally, Latsko was a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll honoree.
Sullivan, a native of Chester Springs, Pa., is a two-time All-ACC honoree. She earned the conference honor with the 2017 outdoor heptathlon and the 2018 indoor pentathlon. Both of those performances rank in the top 10 on UVA’s all-time best performance list. Sullivan ranks fourth all-time in the pentathlon with a score of 3,912 and ranks fifth in the heptathlon with a score of 5,317. Sullivan was named to the 2017 All-ACC Academic and is a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll honoree (2015-2017).
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.
Prior to 1994, the Weaver-James postgraduate scholarships were awarded as separate honors. The Jim Weaver Award, which originated in 1970, recognized exceptional achievement on the playing field and in the classroom, while the Bob James Award, established in 1987, also honored outstanding student-athletes.