TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology received a participation grade of A from the Women's Sports Foundation, in results released on the organization's website.

Rose-Hulman was one of just four NCAA affiliated colleges in Indiana to receive a grade of A from the Women's Sports Foundation, joining Ball State, IPFW and Purdue.  The Engineers were the only Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference program to receive an A grade.

The grade is calculated by comparing the percentage of women enrolled in the institution against the percentage of female athletes at the college.  During the academic year included in the study, female student-athletes accounted for 27.5% of Rose-Hulman's varsity athletes.  The mark stands eight percent above the proportion of female students overall on campus.

Sam Danesis -- 2006-07 HCAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year

"This grade supports the efforts of our coaches to recruit quality female student-athletes to Rose-Hulman.  Athletics is an important part of the campus experience, and our women's teams have become much more competitive over the past few years due to everyone's efforts," said athletic director Jeff Jenkins.

In the 2006-07 academic year, Rose-Hulman enjoyed a breakthrough season of success for its women's sports teams to earn a second-place finish in the HCAC Commissioner's Cup standings.

The women's sports accomplishments at Rose-Hulman during the 2006-07 year included a second-place finish for the women's basketball, cross country and tennis teams; conference Player of the Year honors for track and field thrower Janel Belton and tennis player Sam Danesis; and HCAC Freshman of the Year awards for Danesis and golfer Stephanie Harrington.