Seniors Trey Todd and Jen Moore were named Texas A&M's Bill Erwin Scholar-Athletes of the Year at the 18th Annual CHAMPS Awards Banquet on Wednesday afternoon at the Zone Club.

Todd, who is on the men's golf team, has received his master's degree in accounting and has accepted a job with Price Waterhouse in Dallas. He is a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 pick and is a candidate for Academic All-America honors for the second straight year. He played in 28 tournaments for the Aggies, firing a career-best 67 at the 2006 PING/Arizona State Intercollegiate.

Moore, who is on the volleyball team, is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection. The libero was named to the ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District VI women's volleyball second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Moore, the team captain last year, was second on the squad in digs per game (2.1) for the 21-10 Aggies. Moore, who will graduate in May with a degree in communications, will start a master's degree at A&M this fall in sports management.

The scholar-athletes of the year were chosen from those in their final season of athletic eligibility who have demonstrated outstanding academic and athletic performances.

A total of 401 student-athletes and student support staff were honored for posting a grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the 2007 calendar year. And 89 of them earned Verizon Outstanding Athletics Scholar Awards for posting a 4.0 GPA for one or both semesters.

It was the third straight year that A&M had at least 400 with a 3.0 or higher and it was the third straight year it had exactly 89 with a 4.0.

"This is what we're all about in athletics," A&M athletics director Bill Byrne said.

He said the most important things for student-athletes are getting a gold ring, and having success in athletics and academics. He said this group is certainly doing this, and he's enjoyed being around them, and looks forward to them coming back to A&M, offering vocal and financial support.

Ozzie Gardner and Ashlee Pistorius won the Distinguished Letterman Awards.

Gardner, a member of the men's swimming team, initially used a redshirt for his senior season because of an injury, but returned this to become the second swimmer in school history to qualify for the NCAA Championship final in the 50-yard freestyle. He helped A&M to a 13th-place finish, the 13th straight season the Aggies have finished in the Top 25.

Pistorius, a member of the soccer team, is the school record holder for career goals. She was the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year. She also was the Honda Sports Award winner, which is given to nation's top collegiate soccer player.

Videos of Todd, Moore, Gardner and Pistorius were shown to the crowd of approximately 450.

Track and field members Terry Dike and Jessica Wingfield won the Prentice Gautt Big 12 Postgraduate Scholarship Awards.

She is a four-time Texas A&M/Verizon Scholar-Athlete Award Winner, having earned the 4.0 GPA award three times. The McFadden Endowed Scholarship Recipient has been accepted into medical school at the University of Texas at Houston. Wingfield placed 10th in the javelin at the NCAA Championship in 2005 and 2007.

Dike is a Craig C. Brown Senior Engineer semifinalist, a three-time Verizon Scholar-Athlete Award winner and recipient of the Ernst H. & Eva C. Gras Memorial Endowment. He is planning to attend law school following graduation. Dike placed third in the triple jump at the Texas Invitational and qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet.

The school's smartest teams also were cited.

The men's tennis and women's golf teams earned the Highest GPA Award for the spring of 2007. The women's swimming and diving team won the Highest GPA Award for the 2007 fall semester.

Other teams with GPAs of 3.0 or higher were equestrian (fall 2007), women's swimming and diving (spring 2007) and women's tennis (spring 2007).

The banquet also honored student-athletes for community service.

Woman swimmer Meghan Nebera was the Community Service's Most Valuable Person. Nebera, whose eligibility ended in 2007, ranks second in A&M history in the 200-yard butterfly. Volleyball player Mary Batis was the Outstanding Committee Chair for her work with Aggie Athletes Involved and The Big Event. Batis has started every match and played in all but one game in two years at A&M. Men's golfer Matt Van Zandt was cited for his work with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee President.

Associate athletic director for academics Steve McDonnell was given the Award of Excellence, which is given to an athletic supporter within the department. McDonnell, who joined A&M from Iowa State in 1999, has supervised the transition of the academic center to the Bright Complex from Cain Hall.

Rush Hannigan received the Cleo Whitlock Award, which is given to an athletic supporter outside the department. Hannigan was nominated by several teams.

Athletes honored for being CHAMPS 101 teaching assistants were men's swimmer Alejandro Jacobo, softball player Megan Gibson, track & field athletes Ashley McCarty and Chad Stoermer, women's basketball player LaToya Gulley and women's swimmer Sally Ranzau. CHAMPS 101 is a required course for first-year student-athletes.

Gaye Zinn accepted an award posthumously for her recently deceased husband Bennie Zinn, who made significant contributions to the department as a tutor in the Academic Center. Several of the student-athletes stood when asked if they had been tutored by Zinn.