Lauren Collins, Daniel Bibona Named Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year

March 12, 2010

ANAHEIM, Calif. ---The 2009-10 Big West Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year from the nine conference institutions were honored today at a special banquet Thursday (Mar. 11) morning at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Garden Grove, Calif. The winners were selected by each institution from one of 18 conference-sponsored sports.

UC Irvine's Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year are seniors Lauren Collins (track & field) and Daniel Bibona (baseball).

Lauren, a four-year recipient of Dean's List honors, set UCI's school record in winning the high jump at last spring Big West Conference Championships with a mark of 6-1 ¼. She finished 10th at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

She also holds the school record in the heptathlon with 5,549 points that she set at the Northridge Spring Break Open in March 2009. That total qualified her for the NCAA and USA Championships last year.

Lauren, who has participated in outreach activities for K-12 youth in the local area, is a sociology major who has goals of becoming a professional high jumper and physical trainer.

Daniel, a pitcher on the nationally-ranked UCI baseball team, has earned multiple All-America awards, including 2009 Collegiate Baseball "Louisville Slugger" first-team honors and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America second-team recognition.

He was 12-1 last year with a Big West-best 2.63 earned-run average as he was named the conference's Pitcher of the Year.

Daniel is a sociology major who coaches a youth baseball team and volunteers with Community Hoag Hospital - Cancer Center for Children. He aspires to become a professional baseball player and plans to start his own clothing company.