From Emory University Athletics
The Emory University athletics department has seen three of its recent graduates awarded the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, bestowed upon student-athletes who excel academically and athletically, while also serving as leaders in the community. Brittany File (Carmel, CA) of the softball team, Aman Manji (Sammamish, WA) from men’s tennis and baseball standout Kyle Monk (Cortlandt Manor, NY) were named spring recipients of the award.
Each of the honorees will receive a one-time $7,500 scholarship, to be used for postgraduate study within three years. Emory has been awarded 109 postgraduate scholarships over the school's history, and its 92 since 2000 is second only to Stanford University for the highest total by any NCAA member.
A four-year member of the pitching corps, File established herself as the school’s all-time leader in wins, finishing with a 76-21 ledger. She fanned a school-record 817 batters and her career average of 9.71 strikeouts per seven innings ranks first all-time at Emory and 22nd on the NCAA’s chart. The holder of three of the program’s top four seasonal marks for strikeouts per seven innings, File was named the University Athletic Association’s Pitcher of the Week on 12 occasions. She appeared in 133 games, good for the top spot on the program’s all-time pitching ladder, and she hung up her uniform in the No. 2 spot on the Eagles’ career lists in games started (88), complete games (47) and innings pitched (589). As a junior, she captured NFCA First Team All-America distinction after compiling a 36-6 record with her victory total leading all Division III hurlers while establishing a school record. She was a First Team All-UAA pick her final two seasons and chosen as the league’s Player of the Year in 2016. File graduated with a grade-point average of 3.73 as a double major in neuroscience and behavioral biology and philosophy. She was selected by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a 2017 Second Team Academic All-American after recording third-team recognition as a junior. She is the seventh player in the history of the program to have received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship joining Claire Bailey (2014), Amanda Kardys (2014), Megan Light (2014), Sarah Morse (2007), Mary Nicol (2005) and Melissa Roberts (2003).
A four-year veteran of the tennis program, Manji worked his way up the singles lineup to where he held down the No. 1 spot as a senior. He played a key role on the team’s drive to the 2017 D-III National Championship, chalking up an overall singles record of 28-7 with his victory total tying the school’s sixth-highest seasonal mark. He played his way to All-America status after winning the ITA South Region Singles Championship, and followed that performance by becoming just the second Eagle ever to win the D-III singles title at the ITA Oracle Cup (formerly the ITA Small College Championships). He was the No. 1-ranked singles player in Division III at the end of the fall season and concluded the year in the No. 3 spot. Named by the ITA as the Atlantic South Region Senior Player of the Year, he also garnered UAA Player of the Year accolades. A First Team All-UAA performer on three occasions, Manji was the Division III national recipient of the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. This past spring, he was named the male recipient of the athletic department’s McCord Award in recognition of an outstanding career or season performance in an individual-based sport. He graduated as a biology major with a GPA of 3.53. He is the sixth Emory men’s tennis player to have received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, joining Ian Wagner (2014), Jesse Ferlianto (2006). Dylan Byrd (2003), Jason McCarthy (2001) and Roy Martino (1972) in that exclusive club.
Monk closed out his career with a school-record 34 saves, good for fifth place all-time in D-III history. He stands as the Emory all-time leader in pitching appearances (94) and games finished (75) and his 19 wins on the mound over his four years ranks 12th on the Eagles’ career chart. He posted back-to-back seasons of a school-record 11 saves in 2015 and 2016, good for third and sixth place, respectively among D-III hurlers. A two-time all-region honoree, he brought home Second Team All-UAA kudos in 2015 and 2017 and was a first-team choice his junior campaign, a year that saw him record a 23 2/3 scoreless inning streak, the third-longest effort in Emory history. He became Emory’s first-ever Elite 90 Award winner in 2016, recognizing the highest GPA of competing players at the NCAA Baseball Championships. This past year, he led the Eagles’ pitching staff in wins, finishing with an 8-2 record. He registered five saves and struck out 59 opposing batters over 52 innings of work. He graduated with high honors as a quantitative science major (3.96 GPA) with a minor in mathematics. Named a First Team Academic All-American on two occasions by CoSIDA, he was the male recipient of the athletic department's 2016-17 Aliberti Award, in recognition of continued athletic improvement, perseverance in their academic studies and profound loyalty to Emory athletics, and the Emory Scholar-Athlete Award. Monk joins Justin Gordon, Kyle Foster and Tim Hobbs as Emory baseball representatives who have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.
A total of 174 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships are awarded annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. Fifty-eight (29 men, 29 women) scholarships are announced after each fall, winter and sports season and stretch across NCAA Division I, II and III institutions.
Emory had a total of six student-athletes receive NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year. They are as follows:
Sarah Maher (volleyball)
Andrew Wilson (men’s swimming)
Marcela Sanchez-Aizcorbe (women’s swimming)
Brittany File (softball)
Aman Manji (men’s tennis)
Kyle Monk (baseball)