GRAND LAKE, Colo. --- Four Tusculum student-athletes have been named to the 2017 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) Zag Sports Division II Academic Honor Roll. Representing the Pioneers on this year's honor roll are Christen Craig, Savannah Elliott, Shelby Gray, and Kaitlin Winnie.
To be eligible for this honor, student-athletes must be a junior, senior, or graduate student and have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or greater.
The IWLCA honored 243 student-athletes from 67 different institutions on this year's academic honor roll. Seven South Atlantic Conference teams had representatives including Tusculum, Brevard, Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial, Queens and Wingate. Tusculum and Queens had four representatives each on the honor roll which were tied for the conference lead.
Craig, a rising senior from Birmingham, Alabama, has a 3.66 GPA while majoring in graphic design. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. On the field, she played in 17 games with 16 starts where she accounted for 10 ground balls and caused eight turnovers defensively.
Elliott, a rising senior from Oshawa, Ontario, led the Pioneers with 44 goals, the ninth-best total in the conference, and had 50 points to rank second on the team. She scored 24 of her 44 goals in the Pioneers' eight conference matches, including four straight games with three goals or more to finish the regular season. Elliott broke the conference single-game record with 10 goals in a 19-13 win over Converse last season, and had six goals in a 15-14 comeback win at Lincoln Memorial. Elliott also scored four goals against Brevard and three goals apiece against Newberry, Queens, Coker and Wingate. She is the program's career leader with 116 goals and ranks second with 131 points. She is also one of two players in program history with back-to-back 40-goal seasons.
Gray, a rising senior from Belews Creek, North Carolina, has a 3.70 GPA and is majoring in sports science. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. She started in all 17 matches for the Pioneers on defense, tallying 12 ground balls, eight caused turnovers while scoring a goal.
Winnie, a product of Accord, New York, is a graduate student at Tusculum where she is an honor student with a 4.00 GPA in her post graduate work. A member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Winnie earned her undergraduate degree from TC in physical education. She played in 14 games last year with seven starts. She saw action both as a defender and in goal. She posted nine ground balls and caused four turnovers. In the cage, she recorded 51 saves and was credited with a pair of wins as she had a 14.39 goals against average.
Tusculum was also recognized as an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad which recognizes those programs who have a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Pioneers posted a 3.279 GPA and earns this honor for a third consecutive year. Five SAC programs earned IWLCA Academic Honor Squad distinction including Tusculum, Brevard, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial and Wingate.
