HONOLULU - University of Hawai'i women's volleyball player Melissa Villaroman and men's basketball player Michael Kuebler were named the 2004 Jack Bonham Award winners in recognition for their outstanding performances on and off the playing field. The announcement was made this morning at the annual Scholar-Athlete Breakfast at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The award is given annually to the top male and female senior student-athlete who “best exemplifies the ideals for which Jack Bonham stood for in the areas of athletic excellence, academic achievement, public service, leadership and character.”

Villaroman was a four-year letterwinner for the nationally ranked Rainbow Wahine volleyball team. She was the school's first-ever libero and started at that position for four years. Villaroman was a two-time second team all-WAC honoree and was a member of three NCAA “final four” teams. Off the court, she volunteered at numerous camps and clinics throughout the state in addition to serving as an assistant coach for the Impact Volleyball Club. She posted a 3.4 cumulative grade point average as a double major in marketing and management. This past season, she was voted team captain.

Kuebler became the first men's basketball player in school history to earn first team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors after compiling a 3.67 grade point average as a business marking major. In addition, he earned all-WAC first team honors after leading the league and setting a single-season school record with 97 3-pointers. In two years as a Rainbow Warrior, Kuebler was a member of two postseason teams and this past season, led UH to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Kuebler was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII first team, NABC All-District 13 team, USWBA District 9 team, Academic All-WAC team this season.

Considered the most prestigious award in University of Hawai'i athletics, the Jack Bonham Award is named for the late assistant athletics director who was killed in 1974 in a plane crash in America Samoa. Bonham was returning to the islands from New Zealand where he was on a recruiting trip at the British Commonwealth Games.

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