IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior Kristin Winkler has been recognized as UC Irvine's Big West Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Winkler and men's cross country runner Sam Hyams (UCI's Big West Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year) were honored, along with their peers from the other nine Big West universities, at a Scholar-Athlete Banquet Thursday morning at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Garden Grove.

Winkler capped a prolific career with the UCI women's volleyball program, earning All-Big West First Team and American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention honors last fall.  The libero is the Big West career leader in digs with 2,260. 

Also an AVCA All-West Region choice in 2012, Winkler became just the second Anteater to reach 600 digs in a single season, finishing 2012 with 627 to capture the record and can be found in the top 10 of the single-season annals all four years.  She also re-wrote the single-match record twice, surpassing her previous mark of 34 digs with 35 against Arizona State and then again with 36 versus Pacific.

Winkler has earned Dean's List honors 10 consecutive quarters and is currently studying in Paris through the University of California Education Abroad Program.  The Business Administration major has plans to earn her MBA.

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