PEORIA, Ill. -- Eight Bradley student-athletes have been named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars announced recently by the publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Women's golfer Whitney Cox, women's tennis player Teri Chan and senior runner Maya Monitto-Webber each earned the honor for the second consecutive year, while women's golfer Charlotte McGinnis, runner Celica Tong, women's basketball player Chasity Cotton and men's tennis team members Evgeny Samoylov and Michel Macara-Chvili all earned the distinction for the first time.

A senior member of the track and field team, Monitto-Webber (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City) was a first-team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar in track for the second consecutive year. She was the Braves top performer in the 400-meter hurdles and was also a part of Bradley's 4x400 relay team. A health science major, she owns a 3.79 cumulative grade point average.

Joining Monitto-Webber from the track and field team is senior Celica Tong (Clinton, Iowa/Fulton Christian), who earned second-team honors. An environmental science major with a 3.60 cumulative grade point average, Tong competed in both the 200 and 400 meter dash.

Junior women's golf Whitney Cox (Edmonton, Alberta/Harry Ainlay) was a repeat selection as well, while senior teammate Charlotte McGinnis (Edmonton, Alberta/Boise State) earned the honor for the first time. The duo helped lead the Bradley women's golf team to a second-place finish at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship this spring.

An accounting major with a 3.64 cumulative grade point average, Cox finished fourth on the squad with a 79.1 stroke average and tied for the team lead with six top 10 finishes. McGinnis earned degrees in both psychology and english and is the first women's golfer in program history to earn CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American honors. She was third on the team in 2006-07 with a 78.9 stroke average and finished her career fifth in school history with an 80.2 career stroke average.

Women's tennis standout Teri Chan (Gurnee, Ill./Warren) also earned Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar honors for the second consecutive year. A finance major with a 3.39 cumulative grade point average, Chan tied the school mark for singles wins in a season, going 19-13 in her final season and also ended her career as Bradley's career leader in singles victories (73) and combined wins (116).

A native of Little Rock, Ark., women's basketball player Chasity Cotton earned honorable mention honors after transferring from Arkansas-Ft. Smith. She appeared in 25 games and averaged 1.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in her first season with the Braves. A social work major, she owns a 3.40 cumulative grade point average.

On the men's side, sophomore men's tennis players Evgeny Samoylov (Velikiy Novgorod, Russia/Moscow Institute) and Michel Macara-Chvili (Lima, Peru/Franklin D. Roosevelt) both earned first-team recognition. A management information systems major with a 4.0 grade point average, Samoylov moved up to #1 in the Braves lineup after playing #4 and #5 most of his freshman season and owned a 10-20 overall record. Macara-Chvili was 10-14 overall, including a 6-5 record at #6 singles for the Braves this past season. He is an industrial engineering major with a 3.8 cumulative grade point average.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education established the Sports Scholar Award to honor undergraduate students of color or international students who have had success academically and athletically. Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s commitment to education as well as his love for the game of tennis, every college and university in the country is invited to participate in this annual awards program by nominating their outstanding scholar-athletes. Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must own a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be active on their campuses or in their communities.