Women's Tennis | 6/10/2015 3:02:00 PM
AUSTIN, Texas – West Liberty University women's tennis ace Lauren Howard has been named to the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America Division II Women's At-Large team. A recent WLU graduate from Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, England, Howard was a second-team Academic All-America selection when the 2014-15 Academic All-America Teams were announcedWednesday morning by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Capital One Academic All-America Division II Women's At-Large program includes the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.
The Capital One Division II Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2014-15 Division II Academic All-America teams program.
Howard was one of only 10 NCAA Division II women's tennis players nationwide to be accorded Academic All-America status and the only Mountain East Conference student-athlete – male or female – to earn a spot on the 2014-15 Academic All-America At-Large Team.
The Hilltopper standout capped an illustrious athletic and academic career on the hilltop last month when she became the first MEC student-athlete to win the national Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Howard was a 4-time first-team All-Conference honoree with the Hilltoppers. She was chosen as Player of the Year in both the WVIAC and the MEC and was an ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year. She posted a sparkling 144-57 (.716) career record in leading the Black and Gold to four consecutive NCAA Division II post-season berths. As a senior, Lauren was the Atlantic Region's No. 7-ranked singles player and was part of the No. 4-ranked doubles tandem.
In addition to her academic and athletic success, Howard actively supported numerous charity events on campus. She participated in multiple fundraisers for medical research, served on the Executive board of the West Liberty Sports Business Association, helped run tennis camps and worked as an instructor at the Tennis Academy at Harvard.
Howard never received a grade lower than "A" in her four years on the hilltop campus while carrying a double-major of Management and Accounting. She graduated summa cum laude with a perfect 4.00 GPA as part of West Liberty's Class of 2015 last month. Lauren is the daughter of Robert Howard and Alison Richards.
2014-15 CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
NCAA Division II At-Large Women
FIRST TEAM
Sport Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Crew Rebecca Bergen Nova Southeastern Sr. Winnipeg, Manitoba 3.99 Biology
Field Hockey Dani Crouse LIU-Post Gr. Westville, South Africa 4.00 Special Education
Field Hockey Lucy Kauffman Shippensburg Sr. Dillsburg, Pa. 3.89 Biology (Pre-Optometry)
Golf Kendall Anderson Newman Sr. Houston, Texas 4.00 Sports Communications
Golf Jessica Bradley Lynn Sr. Bishops Nympton, England 3.90 Sports Management
Gymnastics Maria Hundley Seattle Pacific Jr. Littleton, Colo. 3.76 Psychology
Lacrosse Alexa Froccaro Adelphi Sr. Port Washington, N.Y. 3.77 Communications
Lacrosse Melissa Menchella Lindenwood Sr. Ellisville, Mo. 3.93 Physical Education
Lacrosse Miranda Polaski Post Sr. Agawam, Mass. 3.99 Biology
Swimming Kristin Day Clarion Sr. Reynoldsville, Pa. 4.00 Chemistry/Biochemistry
Swimming Emilee Gysegem Clarion Sr. Warren, Ohio 4.00 Business Management
Swimming Hannah Mattar Ashland Jr. Lake Orion, Mich. 3.98 Hospitality Management
Tennis Linda Fritschken Barry Sr. Berlin, Germany 3.97 Public Relations
Tennis Mariana Rong St. Mary's (Texas) Sr. Jinan, China 3.94 Biology/Chemistry
Tennis Tanya Timko Indiana (Pa.) Sr. Canonsburg, Pa. 3.97 Psychology
SECOND TEAM
Sport Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Field Hockey Rachel Dickinson Millersville Sr. Millersville, Pa. 3.50 Business Administration
Field Hockey Gina Lirange Bentley Sr. Auburn, Mass. 3.86 Accountancy
Golf Marie Coors Saint Leo So. Gross-Zimmern, Germany 3.99 Economics
Golf Rebecka Surtevall Arkansas Tech Sr. Stockholm, Sweden 3.89 Management/Marketing
Gymnastics Courtney Cochefski Texas Woman's Sr. Chicago, Ill. 3.93 Speech & Language Pathology
Ice Hockey Nicole Hensley Lindenwood Jr. Lakewood, Colo. 4.00 Exercise Science
Lacrosse Jessica Bombard Tiffin Sr. West Henrietta, N.Y. 3.71 Law Enforcement
Swimming Mary Hanson California Baptist Sr. Ridgecrest, Calif. 3.97 Electrical & Computer Eng./Math
Swimming Elly Maleski Wayne State Jr. Cedar, Mich. 3.77 Engineering
Swimming Tyne Potgieter Lynn Gr. Durban, South Africa 3.98 Applied Psychology/Counseling
Swimming Maike Tweesman Lindenwood Sr. Paderborn, Germany 4.00 Psychology
Tennis Fernanda Amaral West Florida Sr. Curbita, Brazil 3.96 Business Management
Tennis Rebecca Bruning Anderson (S.C.) So. Athens, Ga. 4.00 Biochemistry
TENNIS LAUREN HOWARD WEST LIBERTY SR. LEE-ON-SOLENT, ENGLAND 4.00 MANAGEMENT/ACCOUNTING
Tennis Fanni Varga Southwest Baptist Sr. Budapest, Hungary 3.81 Management
THIRD TEAM
Sport Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Crew Samantha McCuskey Florida Tech Sr. St. Petersburg, Fla. 3.97 Chemical Engineering
Crew Mariah Smither Humboldt State Jr. Eureka, Calif. 4.00 Biology
Field Hockey Jackie Chisholm Saint Michael's Sr. New Braintree, Mass. 3.75 Media Stud., Journalism & Dig. Arts
Golf Calley Lawson Tusculum Jr. Gaithersburg, Md. 4.00 Special Education & Early Elem. Ed.
Golf Gabrielle Shipley Grand Valley State Jr. Hastings, Mich. 3.61 Hospitality Tourism Management
Swimming Jasmine Arzadon Wingate Sr. Lorton, Va. 3.66 Biology
Swimming Liz Bird UC-San Diego Sr. Anchorage, Alaska 3.94 Bioengineering
Swimming Manuela Ferreira Wayne State Jr. Ibague, Colombia 3.88 Chemical Engineering
Swimming Hannah Loesch Wayne State Jr. Pensacola, Fla. 3.84 English
Swimming Danielle Lyons Alaska-Fairbanks Sr. Nipawin, Sask. 3.92 Biological Sciences
Swimming Erin Plachy Tampa Sr. Magnolia, Texas 3.98 Environmental Science
Tennis Masha Andrianova Southern Nazarene Sr. Yaroslavl, Russia 3.95 Finance
Tennis Marija Dimitrovska Texas A&M-Kingsville Jr. Skopje, Macedonia 4.00 Information Systems
Tennis Cristina Lopez St. Mary's (Texas) Jr. San Antonio, Texas 3.86 Accounting
Water Polo Courtney Miller UC-San Diego Jr. Honolulu, Hawai'i 3.74 Cognitive Science
