Student-Athlete Spotlight

While excelling in athletic competition, countless Ole Miss Rebels also achieve great success academically. The following article periodically spotlights just a few of the many Ole Miss student-athletes that distinguish themselves in the athletic arena as well as the classroom.

Laura van de Stroet | Tennis | Junior | Wanneperveen, Holland

A native of Holland, junior Rebel netter Laura van de Stroet possesses a powerful forehand and serve, and it has helped her become a mainstay in the top half of the women's tennis lineup for the past two years.

As a freshman in 2008, she played in every match at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles. van de Stroet won both her doubles and singles matches against Kentucky to help the Rebels take down then No. 22 Kentucky on Senior Day.

With the help of van de Stroet, the program took off in 2009. She helped the Rebels to their best season since 2005, as they earned the program's 12th NCAA bid and advanced to the second round. van de Stroet help lead the Rebels to a No. 21 national ranking to end the regular season, as the team defeated five SEC teams in the top 25. The Rebels also advanced to the SEC Tournament Semifinals. van de Stroet clinched the win over LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament, and also won her match against LSU in the regular season to help Ole Miss defeat the Tigers, ranked 16th at the time, 5-2. She won her match against No. 20 Kentucky to set up the clinching victory.

Outstanding in the classroom, van de Stroet is a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll with a 3.88 grade point average as a marketing major. She has been named to the Chancellor's Honor Roll every semster and has helped lead the Rebels to the prestigious ITA All-Academic Team Award both years of her career. In addition, her freshman year the team won the Chancellor's Cup for the women's team with the highest cumulative grade point average.

Jonathan Randolph | Golf | Junior | Brandon, Miss.

Someone once said "Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be." Junior men's golfer Jonathan Randolph has reached a high level of success both on the course and in the classroom. While he has achieved a lot of success thus far in his career, now the "elder statesman" on a young Ole Miss team, Randolph is preparing to take his game to the next level this year.

This summer, he won the Mississippi State Amateur Championship, tied for 13th at the Southern Amateur and advanced to Match Play at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Randolph picked up where he left off this summer, almost winning his first collegiate title this past weekend at the Carpet Capital in Dalton, Ga. He held the tournament lead twice and ended up tying for third, one shot back of the co-medalists.

A native of Brandon, Miss., Randolph established himself as a freshman in 2007-08, making all 13 tournaments and helping the Rebels earn their second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. He earned All-SEC Freshman honors and finished third on the team with a 73.00 stroke average. Randolph finished second at the Reunion Intercollegiate and helped the Rebels win three straight tournaments to end the fall of 2007.

Prior to his sophomore season, Randolph battled an injury that caused him to miss most of the summer and two tournaments in the fall. Back to full strength in the spring of 2009, Randolph finished second on the team in stroke average and earned PING Southeast Region honors. He helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA Central Regional where he tied for seventh.

Off the course, Randolph has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman and a sophomore. A regular on the Dean's and UMAA Honor Rolls, the finance major is a member of the Rebel 3.0 Club.

Hannah Weatherly | Soccer | Senior | Tupelo, Miss.

A local soccer phenom out of Tupelo, Miss., Hannah Weatherly established herself as a premier goal scorer in her 2006 freshman season, netting her first career goal to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead against 3rd-ranked and perennial powerhouse Notre Dame. She collected a team-high three game-winning goals that year en route to National All-Rookie honors.

The niece of former Rebel quarterback Jimmy Weatherly, Hannah has continued to play well throughout her career and was poised for a breakout senior season before she injured her hamstring in preseason camp. Undeterred by the obstacle, she has made a huge impact since her return, scoring five goals in her first seven games back, including a game-winning penalty kick in double overtime of a 3-2 win against SEC rival Auburn and a goal in the Rebels' 3-2 upset win over No. 7 Florida. The 5-foot-7 forward leads the SEC in goals per game and already has three game-winners to her credit this season.

Weatherly has also provided valuable leadership to this year's young team, serving as a team captain alongside longtime teammate Mallory Coleman and three-time All-SEC pick Danielle Johnson.

Equally as excellent in the classroom as on the soccer pitch, Weatherly is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll student with a 3.28 grade point average as an education major. She is a regular on various University honor rolls, as well.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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