ORLANDO – A pair of UCF student-athletes have been recognized by the Scholar Baller program, in conjunction with the Institute for Sport & Social Justice (ISSJ), as recipients of the 2020-21 Academic Momentum Award. The women's basketball team's Diamond Battles was a first-team honoree and the men's tennis team's Gabriel Decamps was named to the second team.
Top nominations were categorized into three teams based on each student-athlete's academic improvement and the impact each student-athlete's academic performance had on his or her classmates, teammates, academic advisors, and professors.
Battles, a rising senior, is pursuing a degree in criminal justice, while starting all 21 games for the Knights in 2020-21. She led UCF in assists (3.7) and steals (2.4) per game and was the second leading scorer (10.0 PPG) on the team. The Winter Haven, Florida, native dished out at least one assist in all 21 games, with 13 games of four or more assists. Battles was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points per game on 50 percent shooting while leading UCF to The American championship game. She helped UCF make its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance while earning the highest seed (No. 10) in program history.
Decamps is a communication major with a sport business minor and just completed his junior year academically. He not only earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Singles Championships, but also became the first nationally seeded Knight as he entered the tournament as a top 16 seed. A pair of victories advanced the native of Sao Paulo, Brazil to the Sweet 16, a first in program history. After starting the season ranked 16th on the Oracle/ITA singles list, Decamps went on a 13-match win streak to reach as high as No. 3 in the rankings. He also led UCF to a top 10 ranking as a team while helping the Knights earn their first NCAA Tournament win as a squad in program history.
A total of 27 male and female award recipients were selected for the Academic Momentum Award First Team, 18 recipients were chosen for the Academic Momentum Award Second Team, and 23 recipients were selected for the Academic Momentum Award Third Team.
Established in 1995, the Scholar Baller® movement evolved in response to concerns that the student-athlete's athletics role increasingly superseded the student role. The Scholar Baller® program continues to produce unprecedented outcomes in student retention, academic achievement, and career development.