BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Maddie O’Reilly (Jr., Villanova, Pa./Episcopal Academy), Skyler Pyle (Sr., Long Beach, Calif/Mater Dei), Heidi Ritner (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and Kathy Rogers (Jr., New Forest, England/Trinity School) of the University of Michigan women’s water polo team were among 92 Wolverines to earn recognition as 2019-20 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student’s academic career.
Overall, water polo ties men’s cross country and men’s track & field for the ninth most awards as rowing (11), women’s swimming & diving (10), women’s cross country (eight), women’s track & field (eight), women’s gymnastics (six), men’s swimming & diving (six), men’s soccer (five) and football (five) recorded more honors.
The 92 Michigan Distinguished Scholars mark the fourth straight year with more than 70 honorees, the four top marks in school history.
2019-20 University of Michigan Women’s Water Polo Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
- Maddie O’Reilly, Jr., Sport Management
- Skyler Pyle, Sr., Sport Management
- Heidi Ritner, Sr., Sport Management
- Kathy Rogers, Jr., Public Health
