Washington, D.C. – Meghan Lyons of the La Salle women's rowing team has been awarded an Atlantic 10 Postgraduate Scholarship, the conference announced on Thursday afternoon.
The senior is a member of the Explorers' Varsity Eight that recently took second at the Kelly Cup. Last season, Lyons guided the varsity 8+ boat to its first Atlantic 10 Championship Grand Final appearance in school history by posting time of 7:10.71 and first top-six placement in conference championship history (sixth in 8:04.24) while also helping La Salle place sixth overall as a team in A-10 Championship for highest school finish since 1998 and third-highest finish overall in program history.
A member of La Salle's SAAC executive board Lyons has a 3.899 GPA as a Communication Studies an Disorders major.
The class is comprised of 11 female and three male student-athletes, representing eight different sports with an average GPA of 3.78. The selection process involves the league's athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives.
"Providing this prestigious honor to Atlantic 10 student-athletes gives a very deserving group of academically driven young men and women the opportunity to extend their education and enrich their lives," stated Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "We have countless success stories of former postgraduate scholars who have used the funds to earn post graduate degrees in many areas. This commitment gives tangible context to an important part of the A-10's commitment to the academic success of our student-athletes. I congratulate each of these deserving individuals and have no doubt all will continue to be tremendously successful."
Over the last decade, the A-10's Postgraduate Scholarship program has awarded $570,000 to 114 former student-athletes. Each of this year's 14 honorees receives $3,000 to contribute towards full-time enrollment in a postgraduate or professional program. First instituted to provide continuing education opportunities for graduating student-athletes, the program awards $42,000 in scholarship funding to former A-10 student-athletes. This marks the ninth year the Atlantic 10 has provided the scholarships to individuals from each Atlantic 10 campus.
2025 Postgraduate Scholarship Honorees
Davidson – Annica Valmassei – Women's Track and Field / Diving
Dayton – Haven Dwyer – Softball
Duquesne – Mackenzie Lesczynski – Women's Lacrosse
Fordham – Luisa Rosa – Women's Swimming and Diving
George Mason – Alexandra Tyler – Women's Swimming and Diving
George Washington – Taylor Bernosky – Women's Swimming and Diving
La Salle –
Meghan Lyons – Women's Rowing
Loyola Chicago – Gabe Smith – Men's Cross Country
Richmond – Izzy Blaylock – Women's Track and Field
Rhode Island - Owen Fleischer – Men's Track and Field
St. Bonaventure – Fiona McGovern – Women's Lacrosse
Saint Joseph's – Natalie Nevins – Women's Soccer
Saint Louis – Emily Gaebe – Women's Soccer
VCU – Eryn Byrd – Women's Track and Field
Over the last 11 years, the average GPA of the honorees for the Postgraduate Scholarship Program has been 3.70 or higher. The program, which began honoring two student-athletes in 1991, has been so successful and well-received by both the recipients and the A-10 member institutions that it has expanded several times. The most recent expansion, which was adopted in January of 2015 and implemented that spring, now includes one representative from each A-10 school.
To be considered for the Postgraduate Scholarship, student-athletes must have performed with distinction both in the classroom and in their respective sports throughout their career, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.
The Postgraduate Scholarship Program is part of the conference's broad-based commitment to student-athlete opportunities and academics. The conference consistently ranks at the top amongst all Division I Conferences in both Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and the Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA.
