University of Massachusets Athletics
2002-03 UMass Scholar-Athletes Selected
![]() Doug White was named UMass' 2002-03 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. |
May 14, 2003
Amherst, Mass. -- A pair of seniors from California were selected as the 2002-03 University of Massachusetts Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year, as football's Doug White (Claremont, Calif.) and softball's Brandi Cross (Diamond Bar, Calif.) received their honors Wednesday night at the 2003 Varsity M Banquet at the Campus Center Auditorium on the UMass campus.
Selection criteria included academic achievement, athletic accomplishments and community service. Six semifinalists, one male and one female from the fall, winter and spring seasons, were selected. UMass' 2002 fall season Scholar-Athletes were White and senior Martha Conover (Liverpool, N.Y.) of the women's soccer team, while the winter winners were senior Kate Allery (South Hadley, Mass.) of the women's swimming team and junior Beau Gibson (Oakland, Md.). Cross and Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng (Accra, Ghana) of the men's outdoor track and field squad were selected as the spring winners.
Cross is currently third on the team with a .353 batting average, and carries a 3.922 grade-point average in Psychology. A four-time member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and a member of the UMass Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester during her stay in Amherst, she has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District I first team in each of the last three seasons and is a two-time academic All-Conference performer.
A third-team Verizon Academic All-America selection as a sophomore in 2001, Cross leads the 2003 UMass squad with 11 home runs and 37 RBI, while her 30 runs scored rank second and her seven doubles are good for third. Cross also leads the way with a .647 slugging percentage. She is tied for first in the Atlantic 10 in home runs, second in RBI and slugging percentage, fourth in runs scored and eighth in batting.
The 2003 New England Intercollegiate Coaches Association Player of the Year, Cross' 11 four-baggers this season are the most in a UMass single-season, while her 26 career dingers are tied for the most. She has also driven in 146 career runs, two shy of tops on the school's all-time charts. Her awards this season include Atlantic 10 All-Conference, A-10 All-Tournament team, New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association Player of the Year, NEISCA All-Star and Verizon Academic All-District I team member.
A standout first baseman, Cross has helped the Minutewomen to four consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, as well as four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. This year's team, 36-13 overall, is playing in the NCAA Tournament this weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In the classroom, White owns a 3.74 cumulative grade-point average in Management and has been named to the Dean's List and the UMass Athletic Director's Honor Roll in each of his seven semesters at Massachusetts. The three-time academic Atlantic 10 selection earned 2002 Verizon District I Academic All-America recognition and was named to the 2002 Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team. For his efforts in the community, White was named to the 2002 American Football Coaches Association Good Works team.
The President of the UMass Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the school's Jewish Varsity Athletes organization, White also serves as the UMass representative to the Atlantic 10 Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has also volunteered his time to numerous community service efforts in both Amherst and his hometown of Claremont, Calif. His community service efforts have also reached across the globe, too. During his sophomore year, he and other UMass School of Management Students travelled to Ghana. While there, the group consulted with small businesses and established a community computer center. This past year, he and other SOM students went to County Donegal, Ireland, and Derry, Northern Ireland, to develop a three-week business course to serve as a bridge between University of Ulster, Magee College and UMass.
On the football field, Doug has enjoyed consistent success throughout his four-year career. He was UMass' second-leading scorer in 2002 with 63 points, as he has connected on 39 of 44 extra points and 8 of 10 field goals en route to third team Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors. Twice last season, in victories over Richmond and Central Connecticut State, he tallied a career-high 10 points, and his 44-yard field goal at Northeastern was a career-long. White's 39 made PATs tied the school single-season record for extra points made, while placing second on the school's single-season lists for field goal percentage (.800) and field goals made (eight). Over the course of his career, he hit 27 of 35 field goals and 97 of 108 extra points for a total of 178 points. White ranks first in career field goal percentage (.771), second all-time at UMass in extra points made (97) and points scored by kickers (178), third in field goals made (27).




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