April 4, 2002

Santa Barbara, Calif - The Big West Conference announced its All-Academic Team for the winter sports of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's swimming an diving on Thursday, bestowing such honors on a number of UC Santa Barbara student-athletes.

To be eligible for the league's all-academic squad, student-athletes must maintain a 3.2 cumulative GPA, have attained sophomore standing academically and competed in at least 50 percent of their team's contests.

Earning Big West All-Academic recognition for a third straight year was women's basketball senior forward Kayte Christensen. A classics major, the Alturas, Calif., native has also been named a Verizon District VIII Academic-All American the past two seasons. Joining Christensen on the all-conference squad were teammates Jess Hansen (Oregon City, Ore.) and Lisa Willett (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Hansen, a junior religious studies major, earned similar honors in 2000-01, while Willett garnered a spot on the all-academic team for the first time in her Gaucho career. She is a sophomore and has yet to declare a field of study.

In men's swimming, seniors Ethan Hall (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) and Kevin Herlihy (Oakland, Calif.) and junior Karim Varela (Portland, Ore.) were honored by the conference for their diligence in the classroom. Varela is majoring in computer science, while Hall and Herlihy are pursuing degrees in communication studies and environmental studies, respectively.

On the women's side, senior cell and developmental biology major Karin Finger (Danville, Calif.) and junior geology major Vicky Rogers (West Covina, Calif.) earned spots on the Big West All-Academic teams as well.

For the complete list of conference all-academic honorees, visit www.bigwest.org.