June 7, 2010

ST. LOUIS - Former Saint Louis student-athletes Lauren Olson (Plano, Texas/Ursuline) and Whitney Roth (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) are among four Atlantic 10 Conference Postgraduate Scholarship recipients for the 2009-10 academic year. Olson and Roth each will receive $5,000 to be applied toward their postgraduate education.

Olson and Roth, who excelled for the Billiken soccer and volleyball teams, respectively, are the fourth and fifth SLU student-athletes to garner an A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship. They join Kelly Tessar (swimming and diving, 2006), Brad Byars (swimming and diving, 2008) and Liz Fox (soccer, 2008). Saint Louis has had two of the four annual recipients twice in its five years of A-10 membership. SLU's five recipients during that span account for 25 percent of the scholarships awarded.

Olson earned a bachelor's degree in communication, graduating summa cum laude in 2009. She will enter the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law this fall. Olson has spent the past year with the Marianist Volunteer Program, working to support adults with developmental disabilities at the St. Louis Arc.

Olson was named SLU's 2008-09 Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year. She was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America and to the adidas Women's Collegiate Scholar All-America second team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) following her senior campaign. Also that season, Olson collected first-team All-Conference plaudits and was a third-team All-Great Lakes Region choice of the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz.

A starter in all but one game during her four-year career, Olson was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 first team and the Academic All-Conference squad her junior and senior years. She also received the Billikens' 110 Percent Award and served as team captain both seasons. Olson earned a spot on the A-10 Championship All-Tournament team as a freshman and senior and was a 2005 A-10 All-Rookie selection.

Olson, a defender, helped lead Saint Louis to the A-10 Championship title and the NCAA Tournament second round in 2005 and 2006, as well as the 2005 A-10 regular-season crown. The Billikens registered a 52-21-8 overall record, a 28-8-3 ledger in conference play and a 0.93 goals against average during her career.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Dean's List and the recipient of the University's Outstanding Communication Student award, Olson served as vice president of the SLU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as an instructor for the Special Needs Soccer Association.

Roth, who graduated magna cum laude in 2010, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor in communication. This fall she will enter the University of Louisville's Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

Roth was one of the first players in program history to achieve All-America status, receiving an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America honorable mention nod as a junior in 2008. She became a two-time All-America selection by earning the honor again as a senior. Roth also was a three-time AVCA All-Region pick.

A three-time first-team All-Conference designee, Roth was named A-10 Setter of the Year an unprecedented three times. She earned All-Conference honorable mention and All-Rookie plaudits as a freshman in 2006. Roth also captured a spot on the 2006, 2007 and 2008 A-10 Championship All-Tournament squads.

As a freshman in 2006, Roth piloted SLU to its first A-10 regular-season crown, A-10 Championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bills repeated the trifecta in 2008, and in 2009 they earned an NCAA Tournament at-large bid after earning a share of their third A-10 regular-season title. Roth also helped SLU garner its first AVCA Top 25 ranking on Oct. 20, 2008, and the Billikens remained in the Top 25 for the next 23 weeks. During Roth's career, Saint Louis compiled four consecutive 20-win campaigns for just the second time in program annals.

A four-year starter, Roth started 114 straight matches before missing the lone contest of her career in 2009 due to illness. She eclipsed the program's career assists mark as a junior and finished with 5,463 assists, more than 2,000 ahead of the previous record holder. Roth finished among the top 30 in the nation in assists per set in each of her four seasons.

Roth, an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, was a co-recipient of SLU's 2009-10 Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year award. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 second team in 2009 after earning a spot on the third team in 2008, and she was a two-time Academic All-Conference selection. Roth was a four-year member of the Dean's List and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

The Atlantic 10 Conference Postgraduate Scholarship recognizes outstanding athletes, scholars and citizens who have been accepted for postgraduate study at a college or university. Recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and participated with distinction in an A-10 championship sport for at least two years at his or her institution.

Saint Louis Billikens Women's Volleyball

• VB: Billiken Invitational