Women's basketball player Sam Thomas and swimmer Brooks Fail received the Tom Hansen Medal on Wednesday from the Pac-12 Conference. The award is given annually to every team in the league's top senior athletes based on "the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership."
The Pac-12 has named medal winners every year since the 1960-61 academic year.
Thomas, now with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, earned a 4.0 GPA while completing her graduate degree in educational leadership. She is the first player in UA women's basketball history to be named a multiple-time academic All-American.
Fail, a Tucson native, was a seven-time All-American in the pool and stellar in the classroom. He is the 23rd recipient from the swimming and diving program to receive a Tom Hansen Medal, most of any sport on campus.
During his time at the UA, Fail also volunteered with Team IMPACT and as a youth instructor with Ford Aquatics. This spring, he received the UA's Sapphire Award as the top male student-athlete.
