Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has selected Trinity University's (Texas) Tara Rohde and St. Francis University's (Pa.) Beth Swink as the 2005 WBCA Scholarship Award winners. These awards are presented annually to two women's basketball players in any of the five WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and Junior College/Community College) who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the sport of women's basketball and to academic excellence. The scholarships enable deserving student-athletes to complete their undergraduate degrees or to begin work on advanced degrees. Each award is in the amount of $1,000.

"Tara and Beth are both outstanding student-athletes and are very deserving of our WBCA Scholarship," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "On behalf of the WBCA, I want to commend these student-athletes for their commitment and dedication to education and sport. I wish them well in their future career goals."

Rohde, a four-year letter winner, led her team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocked shots this season. Rhode is a double major in political science and economics, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Blue Key National Honor Society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Rhode is active in the community as well, serving as co-captain of the university-mentoring program. She is a member of the student orientation steering committee and co-founder and columnist for the on-campus newsletter The Conscience. Rhode was also recently selected as a delegate for the Student Conference on United States Affairs, during which she attended a conference at West Point and participated in roundtable discussions on the challenges of terrorism.

During her basketball career, Swink was named the Northeast Conference Player-of-the-Week 12 times. Swink is one of only two St. Francis and Northeast Conference players to score 2,000 points and grab 900 rebounds. Swink, the 2004 Northeast Conference Player-of-the-Year, is a biology major, with a minor in Spanish and maintaining a 3.7

grade-point average. Swink was an ESPN The Magazine National Academic All-American 2nd Team member in 2004 and an ESPN The Magazine National Academic All-American 1st Team member this season. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric dentistry.

Rohde and Swink will be formally presented their awards during the WBCA Awards luncheon presented by State Farm and Jostens on Sunday April 3, at 12.30 p.m. (Indianapolis Time) at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The awards luncheon is part of the 2005 WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org.