June 19, 2020

University of Hawaii Athletics Official News Release

HONOLULU – Olivia Hill of cross country and track and field and Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) of baseball are the recipients of the 2019-20 Jenny Matsuda Award, given to the University of Hawai'i Athletic Department's top male and female scholar-athletes.

Both are juniors majoring in biology with aspirations to attend medical school. "The Jenny" is named for the former Department Chair of Student-Athlete Academic Services, who passed away in 2015. It is awarded to the top scholar-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average and of the utmost character, standing for what Jennifer Matsuda dedicated her life to; the academic and personal success of student-athletes.

A total of 294 student-athletes earned scholar-athlete recognition for the 2019-20 academic year. To be considered a scholar-athlete, one must have a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher OR a semester GPA of a 3.0 for spring 2019 and fall 2019.

To be considered a top scholar for each team, a student-athlete must have completed two full time semesters at UH with a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher and must have lettered/competed during the 2019-2020 year. The average GPA for UH's top scholars was 3.79.

In addition, 18 first-year student-athletes achieved a 4.0 during the fall 2019 semester. A total of 289 student-athletes posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher while 144 of those achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher.