June 8, 2004
FAIRFAX, Va. (June 8, 2004) -- Four George Mason University student-athletes were honored recently for their academic accomplishments on the 2003-04 All-Virginia Academic Team.
Junior women's soccer player Sarah Coughlin and senior women's lacrosse player Lisa Hagan were selected to the All-Virginia Academic first team, while senior diver Ashley Craw was a second-team choice. Senior baseball player Jeff Palumbo was an honorable mention pick.
Each intercollegiate institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia was allowed to nominate six student-athletes for the honor. The Virginia College Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) conducted the voting.
Coughlin (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake), a 5-8 goalkeeper and team co-captain, was an All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team honoree as well as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America and SoccerBuzz first-team Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection in 2003. VaSID also voted her to the 2003 All-State team after she concluded the season with 109 saves and a 1.04 goals-against average with 5.5 shutouts and an 82.6 save percentage. She tied her career-high of 15 saves versus North Carolina State on Sept. 15. Coughlin has a perfect 4.0 GPA in her first year of graduate school at Mason, pursuing a master's degree in secondary education. She graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
Hagan (Collingswood, N.J./Collingswood) graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology with a 3.71 GPA. She is a four-time second-team All-CAA selection who completed the 2004 season leading the Patriots in assists (17) and ranked second in points (37). A four-year starter at midfield and 2004 team co-captain, she concluded her career as Mason's all-time leader in assists and ranks in the top 10 in five major statistical categories. A member of the 2003 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll, Hagan is a three-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award and has made the Dean's List and the AD Honor Roll every semester. She was named to the 2001-02 Verizon University Division Academic District III Women's At-Large second team and was a 2003 All-Virginia Academic Honorable Mention selection.
Craw (Nashville,Tenn./Father Ryan) graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.991 in International Studies and was named to the Academic All-State second team for her efforts in the classroom and on the swimming & diving team. For seven semesters, including fall semester 2003, Craw has been a University Scholar-Athlete, on the dean's list and on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In addition, Craw received the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award for the 2003-04 year. She placed third at the Colonial Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships in the 3-meter dive event and fourth in the one-meter this past season and she also made her fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Zone Championships.
Palumbo (Bowie, Md./St. John's) graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.62 in Administration of Justice. He earned Dean's List in all but his first semester and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester in his four years. On the conference level he has been recognized as a CAA Scholar Athlete for three straight years (freshman through junior) and was named CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2003. On the field, Jeff Palumbo was named the George Mason Male Student-Athlete of the Year as well as CAA Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. He was first-team All-CAA and he set school record for career hits (283), runs (205), at-bats (865), games played (218) and games started (217). He also set single-season school records for hits (96) and runs (81). He was drafted in the 15th round by the San Francisco Giants in the 2004 MLB Draft.
