EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University student-athletes Jackie Battaglino, Mel Villano and Drew Miller have been selected as recipients of the NCAA Division II Degree Completion Award for 2010.

ESU is one of six schools in Division II that had three student-athletes selected, the maximum allowed by the NCAA. The others were Drury (Mo.), Grand Valley State (Mich.), Pittsburg State (Kan.), Texas A&M-Commerce and Washburn (Kan.).

The Division II Degree Completion Award program helps student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility with tuition to complete their undergraduate degree. The program has awarded more than $2 million to approximately 600 student-athletes since its inception in 2001; 89 student-athletes received grants in 2010.

Battaglino (softball), Villano (women's basketball) and Miller (track and field) are all Health and Physical Education-teacher certification majors and will utilize the funding to complete their certification over the next two semesters.

All three student-athletes were key members of their teams during their athletic careers at ESU. Academic performance, athletic achievement and involvement in campus and community activities are all considered by the selection committee. Six student-athletes originally applied for the grants at ESU this spring before they were narrowed down to the three allowable entries.

Battaglino (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge Catholic) was a three-year starter at pitcher for the Warriors' softball program, which made the PSAC playoffs all three seasons. She was a second team All-PSAC East selection as a senior, leading the team with 11 wins, two saves and a 3.93 earned run average in 171.0 innings. She holds ESU's career record with five saves and is in the career top 10 in strikeouts (7th, 190), games pitched (8th, 83), games started (9th, 53) and innings pitched (9th, 373.2).

Villano (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic) started all 106 games that she played in as the point guard for the women's basketball team, including all 29 as a freshman in 2006-07 when ESU won the PSAC East regular season championship. She averaged a career-high 7.8 points per game last season and had 204 assists, 142 steals and 59 three-pointers in her four seasons for the Warriors.

Miller (Lewisburg/Lewisburg) was a five-time PSAC champion in the triple jump and a four-time participant in the NCAA Championships, including both the triple jump and long jump during the just-completed outdoor season. He holds ESU's second-best mark in the outdoor triple jump (50-8 3/4) in school history and also surpassed the 50-foot mark indoors.

Four student-athletes had previously attained NCAA Degree Completion Awards at ESU – Amy Jones and Maryellen Onofre (both women's basketball) in 2007, Travis Martin (men's tennis) in 2004 and Shannon McCracken (field hockey) in 2003.