Six Generals Earn Academic All-State Honors

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Six Washington and Lee student-athletes have been named to the 2008-09 Virginia Sports Information Director's (VaSID) Academic All-State team.  The association recognized 216 student-athletes from the state's 36 institutions of higher learning.

Among those honored from W&L included recent graduates Harry St. John (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex), Becca Taylor (Hamilton, Ohio/Edgewood), Anne Van Devender (Jackson, Miss./Choate Rosemary Hall) and Elizabeth Webb (Middleburg, Va./Wakefield), in addition to rising juniors Greg Kurkis (Roswell, Ga./Westminster) and Emmy Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr).

The Academic All-State Honors team includes student-athetes from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and Independent Institutions throughout Virginia. To be eligible, student-athletes are required to have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better, must have achieved sophomore academic status and be a starter or key reserve for their team.

The 2009 Doc Jopson Award winner as the ODAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, St. John adds the honor to a list that includes USILA Scholar All-America laurels. He also received the 2009 ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year in lacrosse and was a USILA Division III All-America selection following his senior season.  The 2009 ODAC Player of the Year and a four-time All-ODAC honoree, St. John played in 16 games last spring and finished fifth on the team in scoring with 37 points (28 G, 9A). He ended his career tied for 20th on the W&L scoring list with 144 points on 104 goals and 40 assists. His 104 goals also rank ninth on the all-time goal list.

A two-time CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American honoree, Taylor was a three-time receipient of the ODAC/Farm Bureau Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and an All-ODAC athlete in both cross country and track & field. During her track & field career, Taylor claimed First-Team All-ODAC citations in the steeplechase, the indoor mile and the oudoor 1,500 meters. In addition, Taylor holds one individual school record and is a member of two school-record relay teams.

Van Devender was a four-year letterwinner and a team captain for the W&L women's soccer team. She was named the 2008 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was tabbed to the First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America squad and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. A three-time First Team All-ODAC, All-State and All-Region honoree and a two-time All-America selection, Van Devender finished her career ranked second all-time at W&L in career goals (64), career assists (33) and career points (161).

Webb was also a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, as well as a Fullbright Scholarship in 2009. She received the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for both the indoor and outdoor seasons her final two years and CoSIDA Academic All-American accolades last season. She qualified for the 2007 NCAA Championship event and helped lead the Generals to four-straight ODAC titles. In track & field, she earned numerous All-ODAC honors, including being named the ODAC Outdoor Athlete of the Year as a junior and the ODAC Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year as a senior.

Kurkis was named to the team after earning Second Team All-ODAC honors as an offensive lineman with the football team for the second-straight season.  The 2007 ODAC Rookie of the Year, he helped the Generals lead the ODAC in rushing yards per game (162.7 ypg) and was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team last fall.

Mathews received academic all-state laurels after First Team All-ODAC accolades in both field hockey and lacrosse during the 2008-09 school year.  She also garnered all-state honors in field hockey and was an all-region selection in lacrosse.  Mathews finished as the team's third-leading scorer in field hockey with 12 points (2 G, 8 A) and led the lacrosse team with 48 points on 41 goals and seven assists.

The Virginia Sports Information Directors organization is comprised of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of Virginia. The purpose of the organization is to promote college athletics at all four-year institutions. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a four-year college or conference located in Virginia, and whose area of responsibility lies within the area of sports information.

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