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Oct. 3, 2008

CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M’s Emily Brister and Tyler Cooper were named 2007-08 Division II Regional Scholar-Athletes of the Year by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners’ Association (DII CCA).

Brister, a senior guard from Amarillo, Texas, guided the Lady Buffs to a third consecutive divisional title and the LSC Championship a year ago. She has garnered all-American and LSC South Division Player of the Year acclaim the past three years and has been named the South Academic Player of the Year for the last two years. She led the league in scoring for the third straight year with 21.8 points per game en route to becoming WTAMU’s all-time leading scorer and eclipsing the 2,000-point mark. She currently has 2,106 career points and is on pace to break the league’s all-time scoring record.

Cooper was the Academic Player of the Year for a third straight year as a senior, boasting a perfect 4.0 grade point average in pre-medicine. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds last season to help WTAMU win the South Division title in 2008.

The 2007-08 female and male Division II National Scholar-Athletes of the Year are Anna Atkinson of Wingate University and Michael Eubanks of Delta State University.

Regional winners on the women’s side along with Brister are Atkinson (Wingate University); Erika Barczak (Wayne State University); Jennifer Hansen (Slippery Rock University); Danielle McCawley (University of Nebraska at Omaha); Mallory Poole (C.W. Post); Shyla Rider (Barry University); and Haley Schumers (Dixie State College).

The eight men’s regional winners in addition to Cooper for 2007-08 are: Eubanks (Delta State University); Chris Cummings (Mansfield University); Steve Dagostino (The College of Saint Rose); Garrett Fischer (Rockhurst University); Frank Leibfarth (University of South Dakota); Keith Lemay (Western Washington University); and Jason Sherrer (Mount Olive College).

These awards, initiated in 1999-2000 and sponsored by Disney Sports, provide the opportunity for Division II to highlight the extraordinary achievements of its student-athletes. said that the award winners are outstanding examples of the mission of NCAA Division II.

“NCAA Division II emphasizes providing student-athletes growth opportunities through academic achievement, athletic competition and engagement with the community,” said DII CCA President and Commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference Mike Marcil. “All of these learning experiences have provided the scholar-athlete award winners with a path to graduation and successful lives ahead. We are grateful to Disney Sports for helping us to recognize the academic and athletic accomplishments of these exceptional Division II student-athletes.”