April 16, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, PA- The La Salle University Athletic Department recognized the achievements of its senior student-athletes on Wednesday evening at their annual End-of-Year Student-Athlete Awards & Recognition Ceremony.

A 2007 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Academic All-Region selection and two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference recipient, senior women's soccer player Michelle Verzi was the `Academic Excellence Award' winner- given to the senior student-athlete graduating with the highest overall grade point average (GPA).  Verzi has a cumulative GPA of 3.99.   

Cross Country & Track and Field's William Rhea and Carolyn Lipovsky garnered the male and female `Scholar Athlete of the Year' awards- for the senior male and female student-athletes who excel both academically and in their respective sport.  

Lacrosse's Kaylan Billingsley received the `De La Salle Student-Athlete Service Award' for demonstrating a commitment to service through Project Teamwork- the Athletic Department's community service and youth outreach group, among other service endeavors. 

Four-year men's basketball team manager Sarah Bischoff was awarded the `Joseph E. Crowley Award' for a graduating senior who is a non-student-athlete who has made a contribution to the La Salle Athletic Department. 

Team GPA awards were presented to the field hockey team for having the highest marks of all female teams in the spring '07 (3.53) and fall '07 (3.48), and the men's tennis squad was honored on the male side for best GPA in the spring '07 (3.14) and fall '07 (3.14). 

Six-time All-American runner Sean Quigley was also honored in a special recognition on Wednesday evening which highlighted his many achievements as an Explorer- including being the top American finisher in the 5K race at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. 

La Salle's Student-Athlete Awards & Recognition Ceremony was held in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day, which was held on April 6^th but is celebrated throughout the month of April.  National Student-Athlete Day was created in 1987 by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society.  National Student-Athlete Day has gone from recognizing a small number of outstanding student-athletes in 1987, to honoring over 2.6 million since 1997.