July 14, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

San Bruno, CA - The University of San Francisco's Tavo Hall has been selected as the 2008 Mike Gilleran West Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year by a vote of the conference's Institutional Representatives. He shares the honor with the University of Portland's Stephanie Cox (Soccer).

The Mike Gilleran WCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award recognizes the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics, and community service by individuals who have completed their collegiate eligibility.

"All eight schools in the West Coast Conference take pride in developing student-athletes who are leaders on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom and in the community," West Coast Conference Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "Tavo and Stephanie have exemplified all of those qualities during their collegiate careers, and are worthy recipients of this award."

Hall is the first USF male to win the award since Joe DeBartoli (MBK) won it in 1990 and the fifth overall. He is the first student-athlete to receive the honor - male or female since Brittany Lindhe (WBK) in 1999.

Hall was instrumental in guiding the Dons to their first-ever NCAA Baseball Tournament appearance. In the final two weeks of the 2006 regular season, Hall returned from a hand injury to hit .333 with three doubles, nine runs scored and three stolen bases. Despite missing parts of three seasons with injuries, Hall ranks seventh on USF's all-time stolen base list with 49. He finished his career at USF with 173 hits, 32 doubles and 76 RBI, and was a two-time COSIDA/ESPN Third-Team All-District VIII selection.

In the classroom, Hall was voted USF's 2007 Class Valedictorian for the College of Letters and Science and won the 2007 Charles Harney Award given to the USF senior with the highest GPA (3.88). He was the only student representative on the USF Advisory Board from 2006-08, and also served on the school's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).

Hall served the community in a number of capacities, volunteering for the Nike Women's Marathon, the Breast Cancer Walk and the Reading/Mentoring Program at the Kipp-Bayview School in San Francisco's Hunter's Point neighborhood.

Previous Dons Winners:
Male: Joe DeBartoli (MBK) - 1990
John Bustos (MSOC) - 1986
Al Smoot (BSB) - 1982
Rodney Lee (MTEN) - 1979

Female: Brittany Lindhe (WBK) - 1999
Valerie Gillon (WBK) - 1996
Mary Carlson (WBK) - 1988
Debbi Dunbar (WBK) - 1987