Fairleigh Dickinson University baseball standout Matt Maher and women's golfer Eva Mayr have been named two of the 2009 Northeast Conference Spring Scholar-Athlete award winners.
Along with the two student-athletes from Fairleigh Dickinson, there were selections from Long Island, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner make up the Spring Scholar-Athlete award winners.
In addition to the Scholar-Athletes, the NEC also announced its spring academic honor roll, consisting of 752 student-athletes with a 3.20 grade point average or higher, a 14 percent increase from last spring. Likewise, a total of 144 student-athletes were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, which honors those with a 3.75 or better grade point average. All Scholar-Athlete award winners must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours, maintained a minimum cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.
Senior outfielder Matt Maher (Peekskill, NY/JFK Catholic) claims the Scholar-Athlete award in baseball for the second straight season. Maher was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America first team, a year after earning third team honors. This past season, the Peekskill, NY product was tabbed second team All-NEC and second team All-New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association after hitting .339 with a team-high 45 runs scored. His 30 stolen bases ranked him first on the Knights, second in the league and 19th in the nation. Maher concluded his career holding program records for hits (201), at-bats (651) and stolen bases (71). At the FDU Athletics Awards Banquet, he received the George Braun Alumni Leadership Award for his success on the diamond and in the classroom, as well as the Robert Metz Award, given to the male senior student-athlete sporting the highest cumulative grade point average upon graduation. An active member of the Communication Honor Society and intern in the Department of Athletic Communications, Maher also is a budding screenplay writer. He co-wrote the script and developed an original score for the film "Awake," which won the Campus Movie Festival's "Best Drama" category and advanced to the Northern Regional Finale at the Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room in New York City. Maher, a Communications major, sports a 3.95 grade point average.
Junior Eva Mayr (Schwendi, Germany/Gebhart-Mueller-Schule) makes it back-to-back Scholar-Athlete honors in women's golf. Mayr finished third at the NEC Championships in Hershey, PA this past April to spark the Knights to their second consecutive conference title and NCAA Tournament berth. She finished 11-over-par, firing a 227 over the three rounds. Mayr has now recorded three straight top-four NEC Championship finishes and is a three-time All-Conference honoree, including first team accolades in 2009. A two-time NEC Golfer of the Week in 2008-09, she won the Yale and Columbia Invitationals, and finished second at the Hawk Invitational during the regular season. Mayr, who hails from Schwendi, Germany, posted a 78.8 stroke average on the year. She was also tabbed to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large first team. Mayr has registered a 3.97 grade point average as a Management major.
2009 Northeast Conference Spring Scholar-Athletes
Sport Name School GPA Major
Baseball Matt Maher FDU 3.95 Communications
M. Golf Matthew Belizze Sacred Heart 3.66 Business
W. Golf Eva Mayr FDU 3.97 Management
W. Lacrosse Mary Kate Egan Robert Morris 3.95 Nursing
Softball Andrea Lazzari Wagner 3.83 Sociology & Education
M. Tennis Benjamin Evenden Monmouth 3.99 Business Finance
Jindrich Chaloupka St. Francis (NY) 3.52 Economics
W. Tennis Nicole Adams Quinnipiac 3.86 International Business
M. Outdoor Track Andre Marcano Long Island 3.44 Mathematics
W. Outdoor Track Anna Hoffman Saint Francis (PA) 3.87 Elementary/Special Education
