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June 25, 2004

Senior midfielder Tara Michael on Friday was named the Patriot League women's lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

WASHINGTON — Senior women’s lacrosse player Tara Michael (Owings, Md./South River) was named the Patriot League women’s lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year, just one of 13 AU players to be named to the league’s Academic Honor Roll, PL officials announced Friday.

Michael was honored for her exemplary season on the field and in the classroom. A Communications, Law, Economics and Government major, Michael earned a 3.85 grade point average in the spring semester. Meanwhile, Michael had the best season of her career on the field, leading the Eagles in scoring with 35 goals and 15 assists for 50 points. She also tallied one game-winning goal, picked up 46 ground balls, forced 31 turnovers and snagged 26 draw controls, leading the team in each category for a squad that finished its season with a loss in the Patriot League Championship game.

Michael finished her career sixth on AU’s career list in assists (28) and seventh in career goals (59) and career points (87). She also finished third in career caused turnovers (79), fourth in career draw controls (82) and sixth in career ground balls (136).

Meanwhile, 12 other Eagles were named to the PL Academic Honor Roll. Seniors Courtney Bennett (McLean, Va./McLean), Lynn Brandon (Exton, Pa./Henderson), Lindsay Cartin (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), Nicole McCarthy (Flourtown, Pa./Springfield Township) and Marisa Richter (Rockville, Md./Magruder); juniors Rebecca Copeland (Webster, N.Y./Webster) and Kerri McGinty (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields); sophomores Laura Barnes (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis), Moriah Linnell (Antrim, N.H./Contoocook Valley), Sarah Mackintosh (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius); and freshmen Caitlin Gorman (Springfield, Va./Bishop Ireton) and Sarah Milewski (Brookhaven, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) all earned the honor.

Players must have earned at least a 3.2 grade point average and earned a varsity letter in order to be eligible for the honor roll.

The Eagles are coming off a season in which they finished 8-9 and came just one goal away from an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. As a team, American finished the spring semester with a 3.44 GPA. All but three of the team’s 16 players were named to the PL Academic Honor Roll.