Oct. 30, 2008

CHICAGO - For the second time this year, Loyola University Chicago has swept the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards as soccer standouts Cynthia Morote-Ariza and Will Martin were bestowed the honor today. They become the seventh and eighth Ramblers to earn the award this fall.

Morote-Ariza, a junior forward on the women's soccer team, notched a pair of goals and an assist in the Ramblers' 6-1 victory over Youngstown State on Oct. 26 in the club's regular-season finale. Her efforts on offense helped Loyola claim a share of the Horizon League regular-season crown and earn the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Championship.

The high-scoring Chicago native now has 13 goals and an NCAA-leading 17 assists this season and she ranks sixth on the Horizon League's career scoring list with 113 points. Earlier today, Morote-Ariza, was named ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District V for the second consecutive season.

Martin is a key member of a Loyola defense that posted a scoreless tie at Butler on Oct. 24. The sophomore's efforts helped the Ramblers record their eight shutout of the season. A biology major who owns a 4.0 grade-point average, Martin was also named U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Oct. 10.

To be eligible for U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or better on a 4.0 scale, completed at least one year the member institution, passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and performed well during the week's competition. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives from nominations provided by sports information directors.