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News Release

Cliff Bridges Awarded MACDA Post-Graduate Scholarship

6/1/2009

Bridges will attend the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue a PhD in mathematics this fall.

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md.—Senior Cliff Bridges (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe) was named one of the three recipients of the Maryland Association of College Directors of Athletics (MACDA) post-graduate scholarships, the organization announced last week.

Bridges earned seven varsity letters as a jumps specialist for the UMBC indoor and outdoor track & field teams. He was a two-time All-America East Conference selection in 2006 and 2008 after winning bronze in the triple jump both years. Bridges was named the 2008-09 recipient of the Matt Skalsky Outstanding Scholar Award at the UMBC Varsity Awards Banquet for excellent achievement on the field and in the classroom. He hit a mark of 6.57m at the 2009 New Balance Collegiate Indoor Invitational for a career-best mark in the long jump. Bridges followed that up with a career-best mark of 14.40m for a seventh-place finish in the triple jump at the 2009 America East Outdoor Championships. 

A two-time America East Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Team selection, he earned Dean’s List honors four of his eight semesters and is a member of both the Chi Alpha Sigma and Golden Key Honor Societies. His extracurricular activities included serving as treasurer for the Fellowship Under God’s Influence Bible Study as well as playing trombone for both the UMBC Pep Band and UMBC Gospel Choir. Bridges also studied abroad in Spain, Mexico and Chile.

He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics and will be attending the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue a PhD in mathematics this fall.

The MACDA postgraduate scholarships recognize three student-athletes for superior work in the classroom and on the field. The honorees represent three Maryland institutions of higher learning and differing levels of NCAA competition. Each recipient will receive a non-renewable, one-time grant of $500 upon their enrollment in a postgraduate program.

To be eligible, student-athletes must possess a minimum 3.2 grade-point average in undergraduate studies, excel in a varsity sport, participate in leadership activities beyond the playing field and plan to further their education.