Golden Dome Main Building

Four Irish Student-Athletes Earn ACC Postgraduate Scholarships

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — For the fourth straight year, four University of Notre Dame student-athletes have earned the Atlantic Coast Conference Weaver-James-Corrigan Award, part of the ACC’s postgraduate scholarship program. Sabrina Flores (women’s soccer), Allison Miller (women’s tennis), and Thomas Ueland (men’s soccer) have been selected as scholarship recipients, while Drue Tranquill (football) was named an honorary winner.

The Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships are presented to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Flores, Miller and Ueland will receive $5,000 toward their graduate educations and are honored because of their performances both in the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary contact in the community. The Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award goes to those student-athletes who plan to pursue professional careers in their chosen sports following graduation.
 
The four Notre Dame honorees are among 52 ACC student-athletes selected as postgraduate scholarship recipients.
 
The Weaver-James-Corrigan Award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver and Bob James, as well as Gene Corrigan, the ACC’s first three commissioners (Corrigan also served as director of athletics at Notre Dame from 1981-87).
 
With this year’s four Notre Dame honorees, the Irish have produced 23 Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship recipients in five years as a conference member.

Flores started all 18 games in her final season with the Irish. She tied with Jen Westendorf for the team lead with five assists and also tallied one goal and seven points on the season. She is a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll honoree and was selected to the All-ACC Academic team earlier this month. The Livingston, New Jersey, native started 74 games in her four years with the Irish. In January, Flores was selected in the National Women’s Soccer League Draft by Sky Blue F.C.

Miller capped her Notre Dame career in 2018 with an impressive list of awards to her credit while earning All-ACC honors. Miller received the Byron V. Kanaley Award, presented to senior monogram winners who have been the most exemplary as students and leaders, while also capturing the team’s Monogram Club MVP Award and Rockne Student-Athlete Award. A four-year Monogram winner, the Norcross, Georgia, native won 71 singles matches and 63 doubles matches during her time with the Irish and graduated from the College of Science with a degree in neuroscience and behavior.

Ueland appeared in 75 matches at forward for Notre Dame over his career. He bagged 14 goals and added four assists to total 32 points, chipping in five game-winning goals during his Irish tenure. The Lexington, Kentucky, product finished the 2018 season tied for the team lead in goals with six (two game-winning goals) and dished out an assist. He was named to the 2018 All-ACC Second Team in recognition of his strong play. Ueland has maintained a 3.95 GPA as a biological sciences major, and earned one of the sports highest honors last fall, being named a First Team Academic All-American. Ueland has also been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in each of his previous four seasons (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

Tranquill, a senior linebacker and two-time captain, helped lead the Irish to the 2019 College Football Playoff, recording 86 tackles with 3.5 sacks and four pass break-ups. He recovered from season-ending ACL tears in both 2014 and 2015 to start 41 games at three different positions for the Irish and register 292 tackles and 25.0 tackles for loss over his career. Tranquill was the recipient of the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy, awarded to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best exhibits exemplary community service, and a finalist for the National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy, considered football’s academic Heisman. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, product has been named to the the Dean’s List in five of his eight undergraduate semesters and earned the 2018 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award, CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-America honors and was the team’s Rockne Student-Athlete Award winner for the third straight season. Tranquill was also a First Team Academic All-America winner as a sophomore in 2016.
 –ND–