July 1, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS - Recent University of Dayton graduate Rob Altenau was honored again for his accomplishments on the tennis court and in the classroom as he was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. Altenau, the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Male Student-Athlete of the Year, is the third UD athlete in as many years to win an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and ninth Flyer overall. Mark Kasmer (football) won the award in 2003 and Erin Treadway (volleyball) was honored in 2004.

Altenau ended his collegiate career with a 14-14 singles record and 15-11 doubles mark in 2004-05. The senior from North Bend, OH, helped lead the Flyers to a second-place finish at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship - the team's best-ever finish in the event. For his efforts, Altenau was named to the A-10 All-Conference first-team for the second time.

Off the court, Altenau, a biology major, graduated Summa Cum Laude and will begin attending the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in August. He is a two-time Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year in men's tennis and was named to the second-team at-large Academic All-America team in 2005. In May he was awarded an Atlantic 10 postgraduate scholarship and he is currently a finalist for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He was a member of Dayton's Honors Program/Presidential Scholarship and the Golden Key International Honor Society. Altenau was a UD Berry Scholar and the recipient of the 2005 Brother Vincent Wottle Award for service to campus ministry. He also earned the John J. Comer Ecological Undergraduate Research Award, presented to the biology major who best demonstrates research excellence in ecology.

The NCAA awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 men and 29 women who participated in spring sports, which include baseball, equestrian, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's volleyball and women's water polo.

In addition to the spring sport honorees, the NCAA also awarded 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and winter sports in which the NCAA conducts championships or is an emerging sport, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.