Juniors Claire Harrington and Evan Charles were named as the UMW Scholar Athletes of the Year on Thursday night at the Athletic Banquet.
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Harrington has been a two-time individual conference champion, and is a school record holder in the pole vault. She helped her team to a Capital Athletic Conference championship a year ago, and will look to add to her resume at the conference championships in the coming weeks.
Academically, her record is perfect – literally. A biology major, she has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average both in her major and overall.
In the words of her coach, Stan Soper, "Claire not only excels in her specialty, the pole vault, but is a team player, willing to run relays and other events when called upon. She is certainly one of our team leaders and an outstanding role model.
Claire is also engaged in various community service projects, always looking to help others in need. We have no doubt that Claire will do great things in her life, making this world a better place."
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Charles has led his team to two Capital Athletic Conference championships, with the hope of another this weekend. He made the NCAA Doubles tournament as a freshman and finished ranked #10 in the nation in Doubles. As a sophomore, he was slated to make the NCAA Doubles Championships again before circumstances led to having to change partners. This year, as a junior, he and partner Tyler Carey are ranked #2 in the Atlantic South Region (there are 4 regions in country) and have been dominant against players from nationally ranked teams and Division I programs. Evan and Tyler have a very strong chance of qualifying for the NCAA Doubles Championships, in addition to leading the team to its 15th straight NCAA bid.
Academically, he has posted a 3.5 grade point average as a Mathematics major, and was named as an ITA Scholar-Athlete for 2013, with the expectation of gaining that award this year.