Shelby Reyes

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Commissioner John Swofford recently announced a list of 36 student-athletes who have been selected for the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award, including three student-athletes who will receive the Thacker Award. Additionally, six student-athletes who plan to enter a professional career in their chosen sport were named honorary recipients.

The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes - three from each league institution - who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to contribute to their graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and his/her respective sports, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

One of three recipients of a Weaver-James-Corrigan Award from the University of Maryland, water polo goalie Shelby Reyes (Sr., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prepatory) has been among the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) defensive leaders throughout her four-year career for the Terrapins.

One of only four athletes recognized that does not compete in an ACC sponsored sport, joining Brian Like of Boston College (men's fencing), Becca Ward of Duke University (women's fencing) and Taylor Brown of the University of North Carolina (women's gymnastics), the Psychology major is currently under consideration for the CWPA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, presented to the outstanding player that best merges academic and athletic success.

A three-time CWPA Scholar-Athlete selection with selections in 2009, 2010 and 2011, her performance outside the water has been equaled by her play as she earned All-CWPA Southern Division First Team honors last season. 

This year, the senior has been sensational appearing in 12 games with 12 starts and notching 86 goals against, 113 saves and 12 steals to lead the No. 10-nationally ranked Terps to a 17-4 mark, the Western Division regualr season championship and the No. 1 seed for the Western Division Championship tournament this weekend at Indiana University.  In addition, she has raised her career numbers to 82 games played, 70 starts, 503 goals against, 536 saves and 75 steals to rate among the best goalies in the history of the CWPA.

She played in 25 games with 25 starts to rank first on the team in saves (213) and second in save percentage (.492), a mark that is sixth on the Maryland single-season chart.  In addition, she posted a career-high 16 blocks twice vs. George Washington University (March 4, 2011) and Harvard University (April 17, 2011) to backbone a third-place finish at the 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship at Indiana University, which matched the best showing in program history (third in 2009).

As a sophomore in 2010, Reyes played in 31 games, with 30 starts, to rank first in saves (170) and third in save percentage (.493), a mark that is sixth on the Maryland single-season chart, to help the squad place seventh at the CWPA Eastern Championship hosted at home in College Park, Md.

She made her collegiate debut in 2009 appearing in 14 games as the No. 2 goaltender for a Terrapins' team that placed third at the CWPA Eastern Championship hosted by Harvard University. She started three games as a frosh, amassing a season high 10 blocks versus California State University-Monterey Bay (March 17, 2009) and earning her first career start on February 21, 2009 against Villanova University in an 11-1 victory.

Prior to arriving at Maryland, she helped lead Gulliver Prep to four state championships (2005-08) and made the Miami Herald's first team All-Dade County in 2007 and 2008.  The Dade County Player of the Year Award in her senior year, she continues to hold the record for saves during the Florida state high school tournament and was voted Most Valuable Defensive Player on Gulliver's squad in 2007.  The 2008 Most Valuable Player, she competed as a goalie for USA Water Polo's Southeast Zone team from 2003 to 2008 and played five years for the Florida Coast Water Polo Club team, which finished first at the 2007 and 2008 USA Water Polo 18-and-under national tournaments.

The Weaver-James-Corrigan Award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver and Bob James, as well as Gene Corrigan, all of whom are former ACC commissioners. The league's first commissioner, James H. Weaver, served the conference from 1954-70 after a stint as the Director of Athletics at Wake Forest University. His early leadership and uncompromising integrity are largely responsible for the excellent reputation enjoyed by the ACC today.

Robert C. James, a former University of Maryland football player, was named commissioner in 1971 and served in that capacity for 16 years. During his tenure, the league continued to grow in stature and became recognized as a national leader in athletics and academics, winning 23 national championships and maintaining standards of excellence in the classroom.

Eugene F. Corrigan assumed his role as the third full-time commissioner of September 1, 1987, and served until August of 1997. During Corrigan's tenure, ACC schools captured 30 NCAA championships and two national football titles.

Prior to 1994, the Weaver-James postgraduate scholarships were given as separate honors. The Jim Weaver Award, which originated in 1970, recognized exceptional achievement on the playing field and in the classroom, while the Bob James Award, established in 1987, also honored outstanding student-athletes.

The 42 student-athletes were honored at the annual ACC Postgraduate Luncheon presented by ESPN on April 11, 2012, in the Guilford Ballroom at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at the Four Seasons.