May 5, 2006

MILWAUKEE - Senior volleyball player Heidi Pfeiffer was awarded the Gold Medal Award from the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences for maintaining at 4.0 cumulative grade point average at the Honors Convocation. Pfeiffer becomes the first student athlete to earn the honor since 1961. Pfeiffer is set to graduate this month with a degree in psychology.

"I really appreciated being honored by Marquette with the Gold Medal Award," explained Pfeiffer. "It was gratifying to see that the hard work I've done during the last few years has paid off in the classroom as much as it has on the court. Marquette has helped me grow so much as a student and as a person, and in my future decisions I will strive to reflect the excellence and integrity that the university stands for."

"I am so proud of her and what she has accomplished. She is very deserving of this award," said Marquette's head volleyball coach Pati Rolf. "I don't know how she did it with her rigorous academic load and playing volleyball on top of it. She played a huge support role off the bench for our team and was a great teammate for the players."

Pfeiffer, who transferred to Marquette in 2004 from Washington University in St. Louis after helping the Bears to two NCAA Division III titles in 2002 and 2003, was a team co-captain in 2005. The defensive specialist proved to be a valuable reserve for the Golden Eagles playing in 27 total matches. For her career she averaged 1.27 digs per game and registered 12 service aces. She earned the Conference USA Commissioner's medal for academics in 2004 and is currently a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

She shared her academic talents as a tutor in psychology, biology and French through Student Educational Services, the Athletics Academic Center, and through service learning at Hope House. Outside of the classroom, her community service activities include `Dig for the Cure,' `Bowling For Kids,' and Marquette volleyball clinics.

"I challenged her once to get a 'B', just to get outside of the box, but thank I praise her for not taking my advice," added Rolf. "This is probably the one and only time I am glad she didn't listen to me!"