MIT's' Bartolotta, Colorado College's Auguste Honored

Contact: Brad Bankston (brad@odaconline.com)
Contact: J.J. Nekoloff (jnekoloff@odaconline.com)  

SALEM, Va. --- Jimmy Bartolotta of MIT and Colorado College's Melanie Auguste are the 2009 recipients of the Jostens Trophy. The annual awards recognize outstanding student-athletes in NCAA Division III basketball for excellence in the classroom, on the playing court and in the community.

The winners were chosen by a national selection committee that consists of college coaches, former athletes, college administrators and selected members of the media. The members of the national selection committee cast their votes based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

The awards presentation for the Jostens Trophy is set for March 19 held in conjunction with the Salem Rotary Club's weekly meeting at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

Bartolotta Excels on the Court and in the Classroom
"As a member of the MIT Men's basketball team, Jimmy's athletic skill has made him a leader, but his leadership extends past the court and into his daily life.  He is a consummate competitor; hardworking, persevering, and measuring success in terms of effort and dedication.  By serving as an example, he engenders the respect of his teammates, coaches, and all those around him," said MIT Director of Athletics, Julie Soriero.

A native of Littleton, Colo. and a graduate of Heritage High school, Bartolotta has been a dominant force on the Engineers' basketball team for the past four years, where he averaged more than 22 points and six rebounds per game throughout his career.

Bartolotta finished his extraordinary career with 2,278 points, 688 rebounds, 331 assists, 184 steals and 100 blocked shots. This year he averaged 27.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per outing.  He is the first 2,000-point scorer in MIT history, while currently ranking third in the nation in scoring this season.

At the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament last weekend in Rhode Island, Bartolotta dropped 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a first-round, overtime upset of Rhode Island College followed by another 27-point outing in a 67-61 second round loss to Farmingdale State.

A recipient of many athletic awards over the years, Bartolotta has been selected as a first-team member of the NEWMAC All-Conference team three times, including being named the 2008-09 Player of the Year.  He was also tabbed as a 2009 D3hoops.com and Sporting News Preseason All-American.

In the classroom, Bartolotta carries a 4.6 out of 5.0 grade point average while double majoring in management science and physics.  He has extensive experience as a research analyst and consultant for the MIT Sloan School of Management and has twice been named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and selected four times to the NEWMAC Academic All-Conference team.

Bartolotta has also been heavily involved in community service work while at MIT. He has volunteered at Cambridge Community Charter School where he mentors middle school children, has taught classes at a Summer Enrichment Program and organized and coached a T-Ball team in his community.

Auguste Completes Outstanding Athletic and Academic Career
"[Melanie] excels in all the areas this award recognizes: academic achievement, athletic achievement, and community awareness," said Colorado College President, Richard F. Celeste.  "But she is so much more than her stellar record; she has the kind of passion, heart, and complete dedication that sets her apart from any student-athlete I have met."

Colorado College senior, Auguste, a native of Cameron Park, Calif., has just completed one of the most outstanding careers in Tiger basketball history.  She is the all-time program leader with 607 assists and 243 steals. She also ranks third with 1,572 points and 100 three-point baskets, and is forth with 815 rebounds.  She completed this season averaging 20 points, which is good enough for first in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and nearly nine rebounds per game.  She also sits atop the SCAC rankings with 7.0 assists per game and second in steals with 2.3 per outing. 

Auguste has been named a member of the SCAC All-Conference team for two consecutive years, while garnering Player of the Year accolades this season.  She was tabbed as the SCAC Player of the Week three times after scoring in double figures in 23 of her 24 games and tallying 11 double-doubles and two triple-doubles this season.

In addition to Auguste's successes on the court, the economics major boasts a 3.74 grade point average in the classroom.  She has just as many academic awards to her name as she does athletic honors.  In 2007, she was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholarship Award and the David Preston Award for the top sophomore in the economics and business departments while being named to the Dean's List.  In 2008, she was nominated for a Rhoades Scholarship and a member of the National Scholars Honor Society.  She was most recently has been named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team.

Auguste has taken on an important role in her community while at Colorado College.  Over the years she has participated in Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life.  She has also spent time working with underserved elementary school kids, where she encourages them to participate in athletics while excelling in academics.  She does all this in the community while taking time to be a tutor and technical assistant in the economics department.

Jostens Trophy Celebrates 12^th Anniversary
The Josten's Trophy is a joint creation of Jostens, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., and the Rotary Club of Salem, Va.  The purpose of the award is to honor the true Division III student-athlete - the athlete that shows excellence in the classroom, on the playing floor and in the community.  In addition to the Trophy, the Wooldridge Scholarship, a $1,000 donation, will be presented in the name of the winner to his/her institution.  The scholarship was named after Dan Wooldridge, a Salem Rotarian and retired Commissioner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, as a way of honoring him for his long-time dedication to Division III athletics.

** Minneapolis-based Jostens is a leading provider of products and services that help recognize achievement and affiliation throughout people's lives.  The company specializes in championships rings and awards in addition to yearbooks, class rings, graduation products, school photography and corporate programs.

Jostens Trophy Winners