GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Women's volleyball player Arden Davis and men's tennis player Sebastian Heim have been recognized as UCI's Big West Conference Female and Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
The duo was honored, along with their peers from the other Big West universities, at the annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet Thursday at the Wyndam Hotel in Garden Grove.
Davis, a libero, closed out her UCI career ranked sixth all time in career digs, while owning the seventh best single season digs mark as well. The team captain earned All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention honors and was named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The senior is a member of the National Honors Society, having posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in six of her terms at UCI. She is the Nitori USA Scholarship recipient and has served as a student speaker for the UCI Campus Climate Council Initiative. She has volunteered her time with the Children's Hospital of Orange County, the Blind Children's Learning Center and with the Feed the Homeless project at Mariners Church. She has served as a UCI Campus Brand Ambassador, a Talent Acquisition Associate and as a Corporate Finance Associate with the Irvine Company.
The business administration major will graduate in June.
Heim, a junior, was the first player in Big West Conference history to earn Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same campaign. In his sophomore season, he was named first team all-conference despite missing 10 matches due to injury. He has earned Big West Athlete of the Week five times in his career, including twice in 2016.
He has earned Dean's List honors multiple times and has been named Academic All-Conference. He also represents the men's tennis team on the UCI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The Speyer, Germany, native is a double major, studying both economics and international studies.
The banquet keynote speaker was former UC Irvine All-American and National Champion men's water polo player, Chris Duplanty. The three-time Olympian spoke of his experiences at UCI and how they shaped his professional career.
