June 12, 2006

Bay City, Mich. - Wayne State University's Nick Ingrao and Michigan Tech University's Andrea Metz have been nominated by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for the NCAA Sportsmanship Awards.

The NCAA Sportsmanship Awards are given annually, honoring student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior on the fields of play, in the classroom, and in the community. The Awards are administered by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. The NCAA began honoring student-athletes with the Sportsmanship Award in 1999.

Ingrao, a native of Ypsilanti, Mich., was a member of the Wayne State men's swimming and diving team. The GLIAC record holder in the 1,000 yard freestyle, Ingrao earned 2006 first-team All-America accolades in the 1,000 yard and 1,650 yard freestyle events. He earned honorable mention All-American plaudits in both of those events in 2005. Ingrao recently graduated from Wayne State with a 3.59 grade point average (4.0 scale) while majoring in anthropology. He needed just three and one half years to earn his degree, despite practicing with the WSU swimming team up to 10 times a week.

Ingrao has made an impact on his campus and in his community. Since 2003, he has served as a Cadet Major in the Army R.O.T.C. program at Eastern Michigan University. Each week Ingrao completed eight hours of service to the R.O.T.C. program and in April of 2006 he received the honor of Distinguished Military Graduate. Because of his exemplary service to the Army R.O.T.C. program, he received the Ilitch Holdings Cadet Athletics Excellence Award. After his graduation from WSU in May, Ingrao was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.

An active participant in many community projects, Ingrao volunteered for the Motor City Makeover and the Women's Walk/Expo, both Wayne State sponsored events. He also volunteered during Super Bowl XL in Detroit, greeting guests and shoveling snow at different event venues.

Metz, a native of Marathon, Wis., is a three-sport student-athlete at Michigan Tech, competing in cross country, Nordic skiing, and outdoor track & field. The sophomore chemical engineering major has earned a 4.0 grade point average (4.0 scale) in her two years at MTU, despite travelling over 12,000 miles each year for her athletic competitions. She has become an inspiration to her teammates, regularly counseling and encouraging her colleagues.

Metz has become an integral part of the Michigan Tech and Houghton, Mich., communities through her volunteer efforts. An active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, Metz also donates her time to various organizations on and off campus. She helps to maintain the MTU running and hiking trails, serves as a student tutor, and has served as president of the Alpha Honor Society, an engineering honor service organization on campus. Off campus, Metz volunteered at the 2005 Copper County Humane Society Fun Run, as well as a dinner for Dial Help, and the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, an organization that provides Thanksgiving dinners to shut-ins. Metz also donates blood and has registered to serve as a bone marrow donor.

Both Metz and Ingrao will appear on the NCAA Division II national ballot. The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct will select one female and one male from each of the three NCAA Divisions to comprise the six finalists for the awards. The winners will be announced in July.