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 Harper Maine's Nominee for 2008 America East Woman of the Year
May 20, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- University of Maine women's soccer standout Laura Harper (Nepean, Ontario) is Maine's nominee for the 2008 America East Woman of the Year, announced on Tuesday by the America East Conference. She is joined by Albany's Amanda Hall (tennis) and Amber Maisonet (softball), Binghamton's Jacqueline Kane (volleyball), Boston University's Sarah Hudak (field hockey), Hartford's Alexandra Morley (softball), UMBC's Dana Shepard (softball), New Hampshire's Catherine Parker (cross country/track &field), Stony Brook's Dana Hastie (cross country/track&field), and Vermont's Carmen Lagala (cross country/track&field). These student-athletes have been chosen as the senior female student-athletes on their respective campuses that exemplify a commitment to service, leadership, athletics and academics during their collegiate careers. Harper was a four-year standout and captain of the women's soccer team. An America East First Team selection in 2006 and 2007, she led America East in points, points per game, goals and goals per game in 2006. She earned NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Northeast All-Region Second Team honors in 2006. She also earned a spot on the Soccer Buzz Northeast Region Second Team a year ago. She was named to the America East Second Team in 2005 and took home America East All-Rookie Team honors in 2004. Harper also excelled in the classroom at Maine. She was named the 2008 co-winner of the M Club/Dean Smith Award as top female student-athlete at Maine. She has been selected to the America East All-Academic Team three times. Harper has been named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in addition to being named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner. She has been named to the Dean's List and also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team a year ago. To be nominated, student-athletes must have earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and competed during the 2007-08 academic year, completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2008 spring season or received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the spring 2008 term and have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).
In conjunction with the changes in the nomination process for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the America East Woman of the Year award was established for the 2005-06 athletic season. Beginning in 2006, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) started receiving conference-designated nominees in lieu of the previous institution- and state-based nomination format. The nominees will be narrowed down to three finalists on Wednesday, June 11 with the America East Woman of the Year being announced via release on the conference website on Wednesday, June 18. The America East Woman of the Year will then be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will select the top 10 winners in each NCAA division (I, II and III). From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the CWA will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year. For more information on the America East Woman of the Year, including past winners and nominees, log on to the conference's official website www.AmericaEast.com. -U-M- |
