BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo seniors Faith Thompson (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) (track and field) and Melissa Pace (Long Beach, CA/Millikan) (softball) were named Mid-American Conference Female Scholar-Athletes of the Week on May 17 and May 10, respectively, giving the Bulls a league-leading 15 MAC Scholar-Athletes of the Week during the 2004-05 season. Thompson received the honor for the fifth time, the most of any athlete, male or female, in the conference.

Faith Thompson

Thompson won the MAC title in the hammer throw (198-10, 60.60m) at the 2005 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 12, breaking her own UB, MAC and Ohio track record in the process. She also placed third in the shot put at 50-5.50 (15.38m) at the MAC meet. Thompson has now won the hammer throw in seven of UB's eight meets this season. She has qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships in both the hammer and the shot put. Thompson carries a 3.973 grade point average. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology and is currently pursuing a master's degree in school counseling.

Melissa Pace

Pace shared the honor with Bowling Green's Carrie McClung on May 10 after hitting three-run home runs in each game of a doubleheader sweep of Ohio on May 7 to help the Bulls clinch their first-ever MAC Tournament appearance. Pace was a combined 3-for-5 with three runs scored and six RBIs in the two games. In four games on the week, she hit .300 with a team-high six RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage. She was also perfect in the field in 26 chances at first base. Pace's performance also earned her the MAC East Division Player of the Week award for the first time in her career. She is a psychology and communication double major with a 3.567 grade point average.

UB athletes have been honored as the MAC Male or Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week 15 times during the 2004-05 academic year, more than any other league member. Thompson has earned the award five times this season, the most by any athlete in the conference. Men's basketball player Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) was selected three times while women's cross country runner Jenny Koeppel (Amherst, NY/Amherst) and women's swimmer Jennefer Brankovsky (Toronto, Ontario/Don Mills CI) each earned the honor twice. Pace, men's basketball player Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central) and men's swimmer Mark Sy (Scarborough, Ontario/Mary Ward CSS) were each selected once this season.

The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to both a MAC male and female student-athlete with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better who performs well during that week's competition. The winners are selected by a voting group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.