DAYTON, Ohio - Eight University of Dayton student-athletes were selected as recipients of the 2015 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards as chosen by the magazine publication staff of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The award recognizes minority student-athletes who excel both in the classroom and on playing field.

Amass Amankona (men's soccer), Lesley Chilton and Chelsea Rose (women's soccer), Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova (women's basketball), Lyndsey Diggs (softball), Isolde Hannan (volleyball), Branden Johnson (football), and  Maya Pedersen (track and field) were selected. 

Amankona, a senior from Kumasi, Ghana, was a second team selection. In 2014, he led the Atlantic 10 in assists and ranked No. 14 nationally and earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team All-Midwest Region honors.

Chilton and Rose were members of the 2014 Flyer women's soccer team that won the Atlantic 10 Championship and both earned first team honors. Chilton is a business marketing major from Eden Prairie, Minn. Rose, from Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated with a degree in intervention specialist in special education.

Cornelie-Sigmundova, a native of Strasbourg, France, earned second team honors. The chemical engineering major helped UD women's basketball to an Elite Eight run in 2015. 

Diggs, a native of Dayton, Ohio, was a second team honoree. She graduated with a degree sports management/communications in 2015. She was part of the Flyer softball team that won the 2015 A-10 Regular Season Championship.

Hannan, a second team honoree from Dublin, Ohio, graduated with a degree in computer engineering in 2015. She led Dayton to the 2014 A-10 Volleyball Championship and also competed for the Flyer track team. 
Johnson, who hails from Lexington, Ky., graduated with a degree in early childhood education. He was a second team honoree. A three-year starter, Johnson caught eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, before being injured in the second game of the season in 2014.

Pederson, who graduated with a degree in psychology in 2015, also earned second team honors. She broke several track records at Dayton and was also named UD's Presidential Scholar-Athlete last year. 

In 2014, UD also had eight Flyers recognized for the award.  This year saw four student-athletes as back-to-back recipients of the prestigious honor: 2015 graduates Rose and Johnson along with returning seniors Chilton and Cornelie-Sigmundova.