RICHARDSON, TX (07.12.21) - Three UT Dallas student-athletes were recognized as Distinguished Scholar-Athletes of the Year as the American Southwest Conference announced Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams on Monday.

Comet women's tennis All-American and the current ASC Female Athlete of the Year Kathy Joseph claimed the honor for the third time in her storied career while freshman Karen Alvarez became the third-ever Comet women's golfer to be recognized and junior A.J. Liu became the first Comet baseball player to earn the honor.

Joseph, a native of Willston, Vt., closed out her career as the most-decorated women's tennis player in UTD history after advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA D-III Singles and Doubles Championships this spring. Joseph closed her career as a two-time All-American for the Comets, also collecting the recognition as a freshman. She was the ASC East Most Valuable Player after claiming All-ASC and first team All-ASC East honors. Joseph led the Comets to a 12-4 overall record and a perfect 4-0 mark in ASC East play this spring. She was a three-time All-ASC honoree and a four-time first team all-division selection for the Comets. Joseph was recognized as the ASC's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete for women's tennis as a junior in 2019. She was 15-3 in singles play this spring and 16-3 in doubles competition. A four-time Academic All-ASC honoree, Joseph holds the UTD career records for wins in singles (52) and doubles (52).

A native of Katy, Alvarez led the Comets to their first-ever ASC Championship this spring, propelling UTD to its first trip to the NCAA D-III National Championship. She set the UTD single-season scoring average record at 78.43 over 14 rounds this spring. She placed in the top 10 in five of six tournaments for the Comets this spring, earning medalist honors at the Alamo Classic and Schreiner Spring Shootout. Alvarez was named first team All-ASC and named to the ASC All-Tournament Team after placing third at the ASC Championships with a 36-hole total of 154 (+10).  Prior to the NCAA D-III National Championship, Alvarez was honored as the Elite 90 Award winner for NCAA D-III women's golf, becoming the first-ever Comet student-athlete to claim the award in any sport. A two-time ASC Golfer of the Week during the season, she led the Comets to a 15th place finish at the NCAA D-III National Championships this spring.

Liu, a native of Plano, helped lead the Comets to their second-ever ASC championship this spring as the Comets made just their third all-time trip to the NCAA D-III National Championship. The Comets posted a 30-12 overall record this spring, claiming the ASC regular season title with a 19-7 league mark. UTD won the ASC's regular season title and tournament title for the first time in program history. Liu was honored as first team All-ASC this spring before claiming second team all-region recognition by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com. He was named the ASC Hitter of the Week on May 3. Liu led the Comets with a .385 batting average this spring, ranking second in the ASC with 18 doubles. He added one triple and five home runs while leading the ASC in both hits (67) and runs scored (54). Liu ranked second in the ASC with 102 total bases and was third in the league with 41 RBI. He was named to the All-Tournament Team in the NCAA D-III Regional Tournament.

In addition, 12 other UTD student-athletes were recognized as members of the ASC's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams for 2020-21. They are freshman Ashley Ambrosy (softball), sophomore Hannah Bennett (women's track & field), sophomore Catherine Croft (volleyball), senior Merek Byckovski (men's soccer), freshman Peyton Guidry (women's soccer), senior Ryan Kropp (men's golf), freshman Graeme Maclean (men's track & field), senior Kelden Pruitt (men's basketball), junior Trent Sakakini (men's cross country), junior Anna Schaeffer (women's cross country), senior Kelley Skinner (women's basketball) and senior Ashwin Vaithianathan (men's tennis).