FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Athletics Department has named women's swimmer Lani Cabrera and men's soccer player Luis Vega as recipients of the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month award for January.

Each month during the school year, the FGCU Athletics Communication Office and Athletic Academic staff will choose a pair of Eagles as the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month. Those selected for the honor will have exhibited a combination of superior athletic and overall academic success.

Cabrera (Bridgetown, Barbados/St. Ursula's Secondary School) is a communication major with a concentration in public relations and had posted a 3.65 cumulative GPA at FGCU. She is a three-time member of the Dean's List for having a GPA of 3.5 or higher and was also named to the President's List with a 4.0 GPA during the fall of 2012. Additionally, Cabrera has been a member of the FGCU Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester since stepping foot on campus in 2012 and was a Student-Athlete Academic Honors Luncheon Recipient each of the last three years.
 
The senior standout did her best to rewrite the FGCU record books as she set three school records during the 2015-16 season. At the Georgia Tech Invite, Cabrera set individual records in the 500-yard, 1,000-yard and 1,650-yard freestyles after touching the pads in times of 4:47.43, 9:59.27 and 16:35.50, respectively, with her time in the 500-yard event qualifying her for the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career. The Barbados native finished first in seven events this season, which includes a win in five of her seven 1,000-yard races.
 
Cabrera earned CCSA All-Conference honors in each of the last two seasons. In 2015, she not only won both the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyles in times of 1:49.33 and 4:51.50, respectively, but was also a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay that won the conference championship and also set the school record in the event after posting a time of 7:16.90. Cabrera earned postseason recognition for the first time in her career as a sophomore after finishing first in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a then career-best time of 16:36.63.
 
Vega (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Montverde Academy) is a double major in civil and environmental engineering and holds a 3.26 cumulative GPA during his four years at FGCU. He was named to the Dean's List in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013 and has seen his name appear on the FGCU Athletic Director's Honor Roll on six occasions.
 
During the 2015 season, the Guatemala native played and started in all 14 games while ranking second on the team in minutes played (1,278). He helped anchor a defensive unit that paced the conference in goals allowed (13 – nine fewer than any other team), goals against average (0.88 – 0.45 better than any other team) and shutouts (seven – two more than any other team). During conference matches, the Eagles scored 14 more goals than their opponents after allowing just one goal in A-Sun play.
 
In his four-year career at FGCU, Vega started in 45 of 53 games played and was a key cog in a FGCU backline that allowed the fewest goals in the league for three-straight seasons. He was a member of four of the Eagles' six-straight A-Sun Regular Season Championship teams and not only appeared in, but also played a key role in two of FGCU's three NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012 and 2014.
 
Recently, Vega was the lone member of the 2016 senior class to compete in a friendly against the MLS' New York City FC and held his own against the likes of 2010 World Cup Champion David Villa in a 1-0 defeat.
 
FGCU ATHLETICS
In its 9th year as a Division-I member, FGCU has won a combined 48 conference regular season and tournament titles as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference and Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association. In just its 5th year of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU has made 21 total NCAA Championship appearances, and seven programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports. In 2014-15, FGCU finished 9th in the Division I-AAA Learfield Sports Director Cup final standings, ahead of several prominent Big East, Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10 Conference members. Ticket information for upcoming events is available at FGCUAthletics.com/tickets or by calling 239-590-7145. Additional news and schedule information is available at FGCUAthletics.com. Follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Facebook (/FGCUAthletics), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and YouTube (/FGCUAthletics).
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.