Field Hockey | 3/2/2018 8:31:00 PM

Shippensburg University senior field hockey player Madison Scarr has become the tenth Shippensburg University student-athlete in history to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, as the fall honorees for the distinguished award were announced Friday afternoon by the national office.
 
The NCAA awards one-time, educational grants to a select number of student-athletes for the fall, winter and spring seasons. Scarr, an accounting major with a 3.81 cumulative grade-point average (GPA), will receive a $7,500 scholarship to be applied toward the graduate degree of her choice.
 
Additional information regarding the postgraduate scholarship, as provided by the NCAA, is included at the end of this release.
 
Scarr, the 2017-18 Shippensburg University Student Government Association President, ranked fifth in scoring (16 points) on the Raider squad that won the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship. She ranked fourth on the team with a career-high seven goals, her last being her only career game-winning goal – the opening tally in the 2017 NCAA Championship victory over LIU Post.
 
For her career, Scarr has been recognized three times as a National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Scholar of Distinction and All-Academic honoree (the 2017 awards have yet to be released). Scholars of Distinction are recognized for possessing cumulative GPAs of 3.9 or higher at the time of the award.
 
Scarr is also the 2016 NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient – an honor received for possessing the highest grade-point average of all competitors at the NCAA Field Hockey Final Four that season.
 
Overall, Scarr scored 14 goals and seven assists for 35 career points in 59 career games as a Raider field hockey player.
 
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships (information provided by the NCAA):
The NCAA awards Postgraduate Scholarships to student-athletes who are in their final year of college athletics eligibility. Up to 175 scholarships are awarded each year for use toward an accredited graduate program. Awardees are evaluated on their academic and athletic achievement, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership. The program rewards college athletes whose dedication and effort reflect the characteristics needed to succeed in graduate study. Awardees are chosen by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee, which includes faculty athletics representatives, athletics administrators and a conference commissioner.
 
"These scholarships are one of the ways the NCAA provides a pathway to opportunity for student-athletes," said Mattie White, chair of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee and senior associate athletics director at Indiana. "These scholarships are reserved for student-athletes with distinguished college careers highlighted by outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. These experiences prepare them for success in graduate study and life."

SU's previous NCAA Postgraduate Scholars:
 
Megan Lundy '16 is one of just four athletes in SU history to earn three Academic All-America honors in a career. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in early childhood education, all the while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average for her collegiate academic career. Lundy is a nine-time PSAC Champion, a 2014 Indoor All-American and a 15-time All-PSAC performer who also earned three PSAC Top 10 awards and two PSAC Champion Scholar awards in her career. She returned to Shippensburg to complete her master's degree and now works as an academic adviser in the division of undergraduate studies at Penn State Mont Alto.
 
Lucy Kauffman '15 is a two-time NFHCA All-American and All-PSAC performer who played a part in an SU Field Hockey run that posted a 69-13 record in four years, including just six regular-season losses in four years (64-6). She made four NCAA and PSAC Tournament appearances and contributed to SU's first NCAA Championship in any sport. Kauffman won numerous academic honors, finishing as an Academic All-American with a biology major with a 3.89 cumulative GPA. She is two years into the Doctor of Optometry program at Salus University in Elkins Park, Pa.
 
Hilary Lyons '14, an Academic All-American in softball, finished with 56 stolen bases (second-most in SU history), with 122 hits, and a .319 career batting average. Lyons played in 169 games with the Raiders, starting 132, and scored 79 runs. Lyons graduated with a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average and a degree in accounting; she began taking classes toward her MBA at Shippensburg in her final semester as an undergraduate student. She received her MBA in May 2015 and is now working full-time.
 
Bryan Beegle '11/'13M, a two-time Academic All-American in track & field/cross country, was an indoor national champion with the distance medley relay and a national runner-up indoors in the 5K. A 16-time PSAC place-winner, 11-time All-PSAC award winner and five-time PSAC champion, Beegle went on to earn his master's degree in administration of justice from his alma mater. He previously worked as a police officer in Ocean City, Md. and later became an investigation and security specialist.  
 
Mary Dell '10, an eight-time All-American in track & field/cross country who won a 2009 NCAA indoor national championship with the distance medley relay, has pursued her master's degree in education in biology curriculum and instruction from her alma mater. She was 29-time PSAC place winner and a 24-time All-PSAC performer in her career with the Raiders – winning seven PSAC championships. Dell is a seventh and eighth grade science teacher and track coach at Lower Dauphin Middle School.
 
Theresa Simcic '09, a native of Allentown, studied cognitive psychology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington after her tenure as a SU women's swimmer. She was a 2009 All-American with the 200-yard freestyle relay team and twice represented Shippensburg in national championship competition. Simcic was formerly an advocacy and policy assistant and humanitarian policy researcher for World Vision UK and a Director of the Awesome Fellowship Program – a mentor group based in Kentucky. She is now a donor relations manager for the Big City Mountaineers – a Denver-based company that provides outdoor mentoring for under-resourced teenagers.
 
Ashley (Totedo) Swanson '99, a three-time All-American who was the first women's basketball player in Division II history to total over 2,000 points, 1,400 rebounds and 300 blocked shots in a career, went on to attend the Duquesne University School of Law. She received her justice degree in 2002 and was a recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Trial Advocacy. Formerly, Swanson was an associate for the Pittsburgh-based law firm of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. and is now employed as Senior Counsel for FedEx Ground.
 
James Saxton '79, thrived as a men's swimmer for Shippensburg who later received a justice degree from Duquesne in 1982. Saxton has sustained an active litigation practice for more than 30 years, specializing in medical litigation by representing hospitals and physicians before state and federal courts. He is the CEO and co-founder of Saxton & Stump LLC, a Pennsylvania-based law firm. Previously, Saxton served as the chair of the Health Care Risk Management and Litigation Department for the Lancaster branch of Stevens & Lee, a Pennsylvania-based firm. He is a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest professional medical organization in the United States.
 
Dr. Tony Winter '76, a two-time Academic All-American in football, was Shippensburg's first recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He went on to earn an MBA at Arizona State University where he also was a graduate assistant football coach. Winter is a long-time member of the SU faculty and continues to serve as an Associate Dean for the John L. Grove College of Business.