NEW YORK – DePaul tennis standout Aspasia Avgeri was named the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced on Wednesday. As the Conference’s selection, Avgeri receives a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
 
Avgeri is DePaul’s first BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Avgeri is also the first tennis player in BIG EAST history to earn the award. In March, fellow Blue Demon Lexi Held was named the 2020-21 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
The Conference also announced the female winners of the 2020-21 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
 
Avgeri, an Athens, Greece, native, competed as a graduate student in 2020-21 and helped DePaul to a runner-up finish in the 2021 BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Championship Presented by JEEP. Avgeri was named the BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Player of the Year and earned unanimous first team honors. Avgeri was just the third Blue Demon to earn Player of the Year accolades. Avgeri finished her season and collegiate career winning 10 of her final 11 matches. She played the No. 1 singles flight for the Blue Demons and paired with Maddie Yergler in doubles to go a team-best 11-4 on the year. Her most notable singles win came on April 9 in Cincinnati with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Xavier’s nationally ranked No. 1 player Ahmeir Kyle. Overall, Avgeri finished with a 5-1 record against BIG EAST opponents including the postseason.
 
Recently, Avgeri was also announced as the BIG EAST’s Sport Excellence award winner for Women’s Tennis as well as a member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
 
In the classroom, Avgeri boasted a 3.953 undergraduate cumulative GPA with a bachelor of science in finance. She is pursuing a graduate degree in finance at DePaul and had perfect 4.0 graduate cumulative GPA. Avgeri was selected by her fellow student-athletes at DePaul as the university’s Female Player of the Year, encompassing all Blue Demon sports for 2021. Avgeri was recognized nationally as a member of the 2020-21 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete team. As a team, DePaul was recognized as one of the ITA All-Academic honorees. Avgeri is currently the top finance intern at Couer Mining Inc., in Chicago, receiving an Equity Research Analyst certificate. She was a part of both the DePaul Dean’s list and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. Avgeri has been selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honoree and is eligible for Academic All-America which will be announced Aug. 6.
 
Avgeri also gives back to DePaul’s greater community as she has volunteered at Wintrust Blankets Chicago, a St. Vincent DePaul Center for Children and Youth. She has served as a member of DePaul’s Captain’s Council and a member of BLM Chicago, Seniors in Solidarity and Little Brother’s Friends of.
 
Twenty-two student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 11 member institutions will be named as BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete award winners. The BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year was also announced. This year, the award went to Providence track & field standout Marcelo Rocha.
 
2020-21 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards *
 

School	Name, Sport(s)
Butler	Stephanie Rodriguez, Soccer
UConn	Melina Couzis, Soccer
Creighton	Naomi Hickman, Volleyball
DePaul	Aspasia Avgeri, Tennis
Georgetown	Jenna Menta, Soccer
Marquette	Emma Moravec, Outdoor Track & Field
Providence	Julia Murphy, Softball
St. John’s	Gretchen Bowie, Softball
Seton Hall	Cristina Fernandez, Cross Country
Villanova	Paige Rauch, Softball
Xavier	Morgan Tinsley, Golf

 
BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
 

Year	Name, School, Sport
1985	Leigh Curl, Connecticut, Basketball
1986	Joanne Keehs, Villanova, Track & Field
1987	Karen Ferreria, Providence, Volleyball
1988	Noreen Coughlin, Pittsburgh, Volleyball
1989	Vicki Huber, Villanova, Track & Field
1990	Siobhan Gallagher, Providence, Track & Field
1991	Cami White, Providence, Field Hockey
1992	Kelly Larkin, Syracuse, Field Hockey
1993	Nnenna Lynch, Villanova, Track & Field
1994	Allison Williams, Pittsburgh, Track & Field
1995	Becky Spies, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field
1996	Najuma Fletcher, Pittsburgh, Track & Field
1997	Jen Renola, Notre Dame, Soccer
1998	Charity Wachera, West Virginia, Track & Field
1999	Gladys Ganiel, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field
2000	Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame, Soccer
2001	Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, Basketball
2002	Jarrah Myers, Notre Dame, Softball
2003	Erin McIntyre, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving
2004	Vanessa Pruzinsky, Notre Dame, Soccer
2005	Nicole Lee, Georgetown, Cross Country/Track & Field
2006	Kelly Harrigan, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving
2007	Jessica Javelet, Louisville, Field Hockey
2008	Jillian Drouin, Syracuse, Track & Field
2009	Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, Field Hockey
2010	Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Volleyball
2011	Maya Moore, Connecticut, Basketball
2012	Natalie Kulla, Marquette, Soccer
2013	Sam Roecker, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field
2014	Emily Sisson, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field
2015	Shelbey Manthorpe, Seton Hall, Volleyball
2016	Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Soccer
2017	Lauren Smith, Creighton, Volleyball
2018	Alexis Walkden, Seton Hall, Softball
2019	Taryn Kloth, Creighton, Volleyball
2021	Aspasia Avgeri, DePaul, Tennis

Note: In 2019-20, the BIG EAST did not present the Male or Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
*Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships were not held this season. Additionally, Georgetown did not compete in certain Olympic sport seasons. It was important to the BIG EAST Academic Awards Committee to continue to acknowledge the academic accomplishments of these student-athletes.