Soria, Villegas Earn Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships

San Francisco, Calif. – Ruben Soria (UCLA Men's Soccer) and Marisa Villegas (UCLA Cross Country, Track & Field) were awarded Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships, the Conference office announced Monday. A total of 23 former Pac-12 student-athletes were granted scholarships.
 
The scholarships are worth $9,000 and are presented annually to up to two student-athletes from each member institution in the Conference. A student-athlete must have met the following criteria to earn a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship:

• Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale);
• Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission;
• Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team; and
• Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics.

Soria is headed to Missouri State University to pursue his Master of Science, Student Affairs in Higher Education. The former UCLA defender appeared in 27 games – including 19 starts – from 2019-21 after transferring from Santa Monica College. He played in 12 games as a senior and started in all 17 of UCLA's games as a junior in 2019. The Culver City, Calif. native was named to the Director's Honor Roll three times in his Bruin career.
 
Villegas is pursuing her Master of Public Health from Cal State University, San Marcos after graduating from UCLA this past June. She spent four years on UCLA's Cross Country and Track & Field teams and competed 12 meets across both sports during her career. She most recently toed the line in a pair of meets for the Bruins during the 2021 Track & Field season, finishing sixth in the 3000m (10:33.05) in the team's dual meet against USC and fourth in the 3000m (10:50.06) at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite.