Charlottesville, Va. – Seniors Kelsey Branch (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and Karisa Carroll (Long Island, N.Y./Ward Melville) represented the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team as the pair was selected as scholar-athletes by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Branch and Carroll were of two of 407 student-athletes at 152 institutions that were recognized by the IWLCA for their excellence in the classroom during the 2008-09 academic year.

All student-athletes were nominated by their institutions and have attained at least junior standing academically. Nominees considered had a GPA of at least 3.5 or were in the top 10 percent of their squad.

Kristin Schwab from Division I Princeton University, Julie Kraus from Division II Southern New Hampshire University, and Anna Ford from Division III Elizabethtown College were named the IWLCA Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

An English major with a 3.543 GPA, Branch earned her first appearance on the All-Capital Athletic Conference Second Team last year. For the third season in a row, the attacker dished out a team-high 29 helpers as Branch finished with nine goals and a fifth-best 38 points. She scored a season-best three goals and equaled a career-high with six points in a win over Wesley.

A chemistry major with a 3.732 GPA, Carroll notched her third straight All-CAC Second Team nod as a defender. She was St. Mary's ground ball leader for the third consecutive year as Carroll scooped up a team-best 43 loose balls. She was also third in caused turnovers with 17, while contributing two goals and three assists from her defensive position.

As a team, the Seahawks posted a GPA of 3.218 for the 2009 season under first-year head coach Kara Reber, receiving IWLCA academic squad status.

St. Mary's finished last year's campaign with a 12-5 mark on the year. The Seahawks advanced to the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) semifinals with a 6-1 conference record.

2009-09-04