MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Six members of the West Virginia University rowing team were recognized as National Scholar Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) for the 2016 season.

 

The Mountaineers recognized by the CRCA are juniors Alisha Brownfield (psychology), Emily Deming (psychology), Madison James (nursing) and Louisa Morgan (industrial engineering) and sophomores Elizabeth Hooper (marketing) and Jacqueline Spiropoulos (sociology).

 

“The CRCA Scholar Athlete award recognizes excellence to academics and athletics,” said WVU coach Jimmy King. “In that context, our six rowers who have earned this distinction truly personify the term student-athlete. I’m very happy to see their combined academic and athletic efforts recognized, and I appreciate all that they do for our program.”

 

Brownfield, Deming, James and Morgan were named CRCA Scholar Athletes for the second year in a row, while Hooper and Spiropoulos landed on the CRCA Scholar Athlete list for the first time in their careers.

 

To be eligible to earn National Scholar Athlete recognition, a student-athlete must be in their second, third or fourth year of eligibility and rowed in the institution’s NCAA or IRA eligible boat(s) for a minimum of 75 percent of the current spring races and/or raced in a regional conference event. The student-athlete also must have maintained a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or higher in their career. Additionally, the head coach of the student-athletes institution must be a member in good standing of the CRCA as of May 1, 2016.