Newport News, Va. -- Recent La Salle graduate and women's soccer standout Renee Washington has received an Atlantic 10 Postgraduate Scholarships, Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade announced today.

The 10 honorees were selected from a pool of 40 applicants and features seven women and three men from seven different A-10 institutions.  The group also includes Juliana Libertin, Sarah Senoyuit and Andrew Steffensmeier of Dayton; Simon Gomez of Duquesne; Lyndse Hokanson of George Mason; Jacob Mortensen, George Washington; Chelsea Paulin Rhode Island; Erin Shields and Emma Slattery of Saint Joseph's.  The 2014 recipients are the first Postgraduate honorees since the A-10 Directors of Athletics voted to more than double the number of honorees from four to 10 awards and in increase the distribution to $7,000 to each student.

"I congratulate these outstanding student-athletes on receiving one of Conference's most prestigious awards," stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "Awarding 10 Postgraduate Scholarships is a great statement for the A-10. I commend the AD's and CEO's for making these funds available to our students."

Each recipient will receive $7,000 to contribute towards full-time enrollment in a graduate or professional program.  All 10 student-athletes have performed with distinction both in the classroom and in their respective sports throughout their career, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community. The final selections were made by a panel of five Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) after the full Atlantic 10 Council of FARs reviewed and ranked the full pool of applicants. 

"Through this postgraduate scholarship program, the Atlantic 10 has made a strong commitment to support student-athletes as they pursue graduate or professional degrees", said Saint Joseph's Dr. Stephen J. Porth, Chair of the A-10 Faculty Athletic Representatives.  "The A-10 FARs are delighted to recognize the outstanding academic and athletic achievements of these 10 scholar-athletes and to honor them with these postgraduate scholarships."

The Postgraduate Award is part of a broad-based commitment to academics by the Atlantic 10,which currently ranks fifth amongst all Division I Conferences in both Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and the Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the. 

The league APR average is 984, marking the fourth consecutive year the A-10's average APR has improved. In addition to this overall success, 58 A-10 teams earned national recognition from the NCAA in the APR. The 58 programs, which is the most for the A-10 since 2010, ranked in the top 10 percent of their respective sports in APR scores compiled through the 2012-13 academic year.
A listing of the 10 Postgraduate Scholarship winners is below.
 
Renee Washington, La Salle?Women's Soccer | Communication | Ewing, N.J.
Graduate School: Lehigh University | Expected Field of Study: Educational Leadership
A team captain,  La Salle's Co-Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, Washington led La Salle to two A-10 Championship titles and three NCAA appearances. She was an All-American selection by the NSCAA in 2011 and an All-Region pick in 2012 and 2013. Washington has over 100 career points and is the all-time leader in career points at La Salle and she's also tied for first in all-time goals. A four-year All-Conference honoree, she also was on the A-10 All-Championship teams in 2012 and 2013, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in 2013. Named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in each semester through her four years, she was also a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American and a three-time NSCAA Scholar All-American (2011, 2012, 2013). She also was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and was on the Hermann Trophy Watch List as a junior. She coaches youth soccer for multiple organizations, including Total Soccer Academy and the Hibernian Cyclones U14 team and has also worked the Explorer Soccer Camps. She oversaw the Score for the Cure program and founded the Make your Mark program. Make your Mark is a non-profit organization that works to raise money for Crohn's disease research. Washington raised roughly $3,500 in the first six months following Make Your Mark's inception. She also was a selected speaker for Gateways to Careers and the La Salle Charter Dinner. She participated in the Emerging Leaders Program, and also volunteered her time with multiple organizations, including serving as a tutor and helping community cleanup efforts.