HONOLULU – Olivia Hill of cross country and track and field and Cade Smith of baseball are the recipients of the 2019-20 Jenny Matsuda Award, given to the University of Hawai'i Athletic Department's top male and female scholar-athletes.
 
Both are juniors majoring in biology with aspirations to attend medical school. "The Jenny" is named for the former Department Chair of Student-Athlete Academic Services, who passed away in 2015. It is awarded to the top scholar-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average and of the utmost character, standing for what Jennifer Matsuda dedicated her life to; the academic and personal success of student-athletes.
 
The top academic team award for women's sports was cross country with an average GPA of 3.73 while the men's tennis team repeated as the top academic team for men's sports also with a 3.73 GPA.
 
A total of 294 student-athletes earned scholar-athlete recognition for the 2019-20 academic year. To be considered a scholar-athlete, one must have a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher OR a semester GPA of a 3.0 for spring 2019 and fall 2019.
 
To be considered a top scholar for each team, a student-athlete must have completed two full time semesters at UH with a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher and must have lettered/competed during the 2019-2020 year. The average GPA for UH's top scholars was 3.79. 
 
In addition, 18 first-year student-athletes achieved a 4.0 during the fall 2019 semester. A total of 289 student-athletes posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher while 144 of those achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher.