CAC Names Silver Anniversary Women's Tennis Team As Part Of Its 25th Year Celebration
YORK, Pa. - University of Mary Washington graduates Lea Schon and Lindsay Raulston were among the 21 former Eagles named to the CAC Silver Anniversary Women's Tennis Team - the highest number of athletes from one institution on any of the conference's Silver Anniversary teams announced this year. Mary Washington has won 22 of the 24 CAC championships since the conference began championship play in 1991.
Entering its 25th year of varsity competition, the CAC selected a Silver Anniversary Team in 19 championship sports, primarily based on season-ending conference awards as voted by the conference coaches. Each Silver Anniversary Team will feature 25 former or current standouts. Men's and women's indoor track & field, which became a CAC championship sport in 2012, was combined with men's and women's outdoor track & field. The Silver Anniversary Golf Team has just eight members because the sport was added to the CAC championships list just seven years ago.
The teams will be announced early in the regular-season for its respective sport. Each Silver Anniversary Team honoree will receive a commemorative gift from the conference, and many will be recognized by their institution/alma mater at some time during the academic year.
The University of Mary Washington, a charter member of the CAC, led the conference with 153 current and former student-athletes on the Silver Anniversary Teams, including 40 in men's and women's tennis combined. Salisbury University, which joined the CAC in the 1994-95 athletic season, was second with 121 Silver Anniversary Team honorees. CAC charter members York College of Pa. (59) and St. Mary's College of Md. (35) were next in line for most Silver Anniversary Team honorees.
The CAC was organized as a six-team affiliation in 1989 and began championship competition with the winter sports during the 1990-91 season. Membership changes in the last decade ultimately created a 10-team conference that has become one of the strongest in NCAA Division III.
CAC teams have won 18 national team championships, and dozens of other teams have finished in among the top four in NCAA Division III competition.
In 2013-14, the CAC advanced more than 25 teams to post-season competition. Four CAC athletic programs finished among the Top 60 in the final Learfield Cup – the only conference in the Middle Atlantic Region to accomplish that feat. One team won a national championship (Salisbury University women's lacrosse) and three others played in the national championship game. Nineteen CAC teams won at least one game in NCAA Tournament competition and 10 advanced to at least the NCAA Sweet 16.
In the last two years, CAC student-athletes have combined to win six individual national championships at NCAA swimming or track & field competitions. The CAC student-athletes collected a record 11 Capital One Academic All-America awards in 2013-14 as well as an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and the Josten's Award, recognizing a Division III women's basketball player for her achievements on the court, in the classroom and contributions to the community.
In the classroom, the CAC boasts 81 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including one Academic All-American of the Year award winner, 12 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners, five NCAA Elite 89 award winners, two Honda year-end award winners and a Josten's Award winner in women's basketball. The CAC also features an annual Academic Honor Roll that recently honored nearly 1,200 students for their academic achievements. Thousands of other student-athletes have received Player of the Year, All-America or All-Region recognition in their respective sports.
Schon won the maximum number of on-court awards as possible during her career. Beginning with the Rookie of the Year in 1999, Schon was named a first-team singles and doubles player all four years. She also was named the CAC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Year four times throughout her career (1999-2002).
Similarly, Raulston was the Rookie of the Year in 2012 and was also a first team all-star in both singles and doubles all four years. She went on to win the Athlete of the Year award three years in a row from 2012-2014.
Other Eagles that won CAC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Year in consecutive years were Kirsten Erikson (1996-1997), Rebecca Morse-Karzin (2008-09) and Courtney Goimarac (2010-11).
Salisbury University, which won two CAC team championships, had four players named to the Silver Anniversary Women's Tennis Team. Heather Tyng was a first team all-star all four years during her career (2000-03) while Jillian Poppe was named the Rookie of the Year in 2010 and finished her career as a three year singles and doubles all-star.
CAC Silver Anniversary Women's Tennis Team Honorees
Name, Last Year of Competition, Institution
Jackie Burr, 2010, Salisbury University
Jody Cogar, 2003, Salisbury University
Kirsten Erickson, 1997, University of Mary Washington
Jamie Evans, 1997, University of Mary Washington
Natalia Fugate, 2007, University of Mary Washington
Kelley Gallagher, 1999, University of Mary Washington
Courtney Goimarac, 2011, University of Mary Washington
Laura Graham, 1993, University of Mary Washington
Stephanie Kurti, 2009, University of Mary Washington
Katherine Malpeli, 2009, University of Mary Washington
Michelle Meadows, 2012, University of Mary Washington
Katie Miglin, 2007, University of Mary Washington
Leah Morris, 1999, University of Mary Washington
Rebecca Morse-Karzen, 2009, University of Mary Washington
Jillian Poppe, 2010, Salisbury University
Lindsay Raulston, 2014, University of Mary Washington
Alexandra Ritter, -present, University of Mary Washington
Leslie Roland, 1994, University of Mary Washington
Lea Schon, 2001, University of Mary Washington
Liz Siciliano, 1996, University of Mary Washington
Steffany Slaughter, 2002, University of Mary Washington
Gayle Smith, 2005, University of Mary Washington
Emily Sutliff, 2001, University of Mary Washington
Beth Todd, 1995, University of Mary Washington
Heather Tyng, 2003, Salisbury University