CAA Announces Fall Sports Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
RICHMOND, Va. (December 19, 2011) – Six student-athletes who are among the best in their various sports and are also standouts in the classroom have been honored by the Colonial Athletic Association as recipients of the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for the fall sports season.
The conference honors a Scholar-Athlete in each of its 23 sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
Earning the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award in the fall sports were: Wil Zahorodny of UNCW in men’s cross country, Stacey Nobles of James Madison in women’s cross country, Kaela Barker of Northeastern in field hockey, Vincent Foermer of Georgia State in men’s soccer, Mallory Schaffer of William & Mary in women’s soccer and Vineece Verdun of Georgia State in volleyball. A scholar-athlete for CAA Football will be chosen in January.
Here is a brief biographical sketch on the award winners. All six have cumulative grade point averages of 3.6 or better and four of them earned all-conference honors this season.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Wil Zahorodny, Senior, Damascus, Md./Damascus – University of North Carolina Wilmington
A senior majoring in biology, Zahorodny is a Dean’s List student and a six-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award in cross country and track and field. A member of the Honors Program at UNCW, he’s made the Dean’s List in six semesters and is a six-time winner of the Golden Seahawk Award. Zahorodny has been the Seahawks’ top performer in cross country for the past three years. This season he was the individual champion at the Campbell Invitational and was the runner-up at the Seahawk Invitational. At the 2011 CAA Cross Country Championship, he placed 15th overall with a time of 25:57 over the 8K course.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Stacey Nobles, Junior, Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes – James Madison University
A junior majoring in interdisciplinary liberal studies, Nobles is a four-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient in cross country and track and field. She has made the JMU President’s List (4.0 GPA) in three semesters and has been a JMU Athletic Director Scholar-Athlete in four consecutive semesters. Nobles earned All-CAA honors for the third straight season after placing third overall at the 2011 CAA Cross Country Championship with a time of 22:09 over the 6K course. The effort helped lead the Dukes to the team title. She currently has the 4th-fastest time in JMU history in 5K events and the 9th-fastest time in school history in 6K competitions.
FIELD HOCKEY
Kaela Barker, Senior, North Vancouver, British Columbia/Sutherland – Northeastern University
A senior majoring in health sciences, Barker has made the NU Dean’s List in six semesters and is a three-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient. She has twice been chosen to the NFHCA All-Academic squad and is a two-time recipient of the Top Dogs Award at NU (3.8+ GPA). Barker earned third team All-America honors this season after contributing four goals and five assists for a Huskies’ squad that earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. She was selected to the All-Northeast region team for the third time in her career and also received All-CAA honors for the third straight season.
MEN’S SOCCER
Vincent Foermer, Junior, Seevetal, Germany/Gymnasium Meckelfeld – Georgia State University
A junior majoring in risk management and insurance, Foermer was chosen to the Capital One Academic All-District first team in 2011. A two-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient, he has been a member of the President’s List (4.0 GPA) and has also made the GSU All-Academic team. Foermer was the starting goalkeeper for a Panthers’ squad that led the CAA in shutouts and fewest goals allowed. He posted a school-record 1.18 goals against average and five shutouts despite missing eight games due to injury. Foermer helped GSU record its best season in school history, which included an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Mallory Schaffer, Junior, Allison Park, Pa./Hampton – College of William and Mary
Schaffer was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America third team and Academic All-District first team in 2011. The junior biology and pre-med major is a three-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. Schaffer had a spectacular season on the field, earning first-team All-America honors from the NSCAA and second-team All-America accolades from Soccer America. The Tribe midfielder was also named CAA Player of the Year and Player of the Year in the state of Virginia. Schaffer led the CAA in goals (17), points (40) and game-winning goals (6) as William & Mary captured the CAA regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
VOLLEYBALL
Vineece Verdun, Senior, Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Andover – Georgia State University
A repeat selection as CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in volleyball, Verdun was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America third team and the Academic All-District first team in 2011. The senior public policy major was one of 30 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and was named to GSU’s All-Academic Team and All-Service Team. She has made the President’s List at GSU and is a CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient. Verdun became the first player in school history to earn first-team All-CAA volleyball honors in back-to-back seasons in 2011. The Panthers’ middle blocker ranked third in the CAA in points per set (4.0) and fourth in kills per set (3.33). She recorded double-digit kills in 21 of 28 matches and also led the team with 84 total blocks. Verdun was also named to COBRA magazine’s All-Southeast Region squad.