COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) is recognizing Scholar-Athletes for the 2011-12 school year. Administrators from each of the 14 RMAC institutions chose a male and female student-athlete as their honorees. To be eligible for the RMAC Scholar-Athlete award, individuals must be compete in one of the conference sponsored championship sports; carry at least a 3.30 Grade Point Average (GPA); be a starter or reserve on their respective team; be of good character and must have participated at the active member institution for two (2) or more seasons. True freshmen and first year transfers are not eligible for this award.
 
For Western New Mexico, Rodrigo Almeida (Arapongas, Brazil/Nene Lourenco High School) and Kaitlynn Barnes (Phoenix, AZ/Deer Valley High School) collected the honors.

Almeida, the sophomore from Arapongas, Brazil with a 3.42 GPA, was named the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year and backed it up being named the RMAC Player of the Year. This year, he compiled a 19-3 overall singles record, including a 6-0 mark against RMAC opponents, with all of the wins coming at the top flight. Of his 19 wins, 17 of them came in straight sets. In doubles, he went 14-10, with a majority of his matches coming with Jean Benoit Belin (Nimes, France/Emmanuel d'Alzon High School) at the No. 2 position as they posted a 12-9 mark. He was named RMAC Player of the Week four times and helped lead the Mustangs to the RMAC regular season and Tournament titles.


Barnes, a senior catcher from Phoenix, Ariz., holding a 3.62 GPA in nursing, was named to the All-RMAC first-team, as well as the All-RMAC Academic first-team as she holds a 3.62 GPA. She was named to the second-team All-Central Region by Daktronics. Her .460 batting average ranked third in the conference and 16th nationally. She ranked 17th in the nation in terms of home runs (15) and 11th in the nation in terms of RBI per game at 1.25. She also collected three triples and led the team with 12 stolen bases. She played in 48 games, starting 47 behind home plate.


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