IWLCA Names 2018 Scholar-Athletes of the Year

The IWLCA named its 2018 Scholar-Athletes of the Year, honoring the top student-athlete in the NCAA Division I, II, and III and the NAIA. Nominees for the award must be a senior or graduate student, have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and be a starter or significant reserve for their team.

Division I – Kelly Haberl, Colgate University

The 2018 IWLCA Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year is Kelly Haberl, a senior defender at Colgate University. Haberl, a Physics major who is also minoring in computer science, was one of only 12 players in the league named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team this spring. She was also named one of the Colgate Scholar-Athletes of the Year. At the 2018 Colgate Awards Convocation Haberl received the Dr. Leo H. Speno '26 Prize from the Office of Advancement and the John T. "Jack" Mitchell Memorial Award from the Athletics Department. Haberl was selected to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll in 2017 and is a three-time selection to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and a four-time selection to the Raider Academic Honor Roll. She graduated with a 3.99 GPA and has been named to the Dean's List for all eight semesters of her academic career. Haberl has been working with a professor on her senior thesis to develop a small device that can be used to date rocks on Mars. Their goal is to pitch the product to NASA and have it launched into space into the 2020s. Haberl started all 17 games on defense for the Raiders in 2018, racking up 13 ground balls, seven caused turnovers, and two draw controls.

Division II – Sarah Gebre, West Chester University

The 2018 IWLCA Division II Scholar-Athlete of the Year is Sarah Gebre, a senior defender at West Chester University who served as a co-captain for her squad. Gebre posted a 3.953 GPA, graduating summa cum laude with a major in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and a double minor in Psychology and Spanish. She was named to the Dean’s list and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every semester of her academic career. Gebre led a young Golden Rams team to a 19-1 record, a PSAC Championship and NCAA Elite 8 finish this past spring. In 20 games this season, Gebre recorded two points, 37 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers, and four draw controls, which earned her a spot on the IWLCA Division II All-Atlantic Region Second Team. She will begin pursuing a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology at West Chester this fall.

Division III – Carlee Joseph, Meredith College

The 2018 IWLCA Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year is Carlee Joseph, a four-year standout at attack for Meredith College. As part of Meredith's dual-degree engineering program, Joseph will graduate in May 2019 with two bachelor's degrees, one in mathematics from Meredith and a second in mechanical engineering from N.C. State University. She is a Meredith College Pascal Scholar, an Impact Raleigh Scholar, and a Hazel Lee Gaddis Engineering Scholar and currently boasts a 3.885 GPA. Joseph was the recipient of the Vallie T. Nelson Freshmen Mathematics Award and is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society and Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society. Joseph has been named to the Meredith College Dean’s List every semester and was on the 2017 IWLCA Division III Academic Honor Roll. Joseph is a three-time IWLCA All-Chesapeake Region first team selection, led her team to four USA South Tournament Championships, three regular season titles, and four NCAA appearances. She racked up 85 goals and 24 assists this spring and was named a recipient of the USA South Atlantic Conference Don Scalf Award as the female Student-Athlete of the Year.

NAIA  – Taylor Vaccaro, Savannah College of Art and Design

The 2018 IWLCA NAIA Scholar-Athlete of the Year is Taylor Vaccaro, a senior attacker at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She is an Interior Design major and Business minor at SCAD and will graduate with a 3.86 GPA. Vaccaro was named one of Design Futures Council's Top 20 Interior Design Students. She is a member of Tau Sigma Delta School of Building Arts Honor Society. She has been on the Dean’s list every quarter of her academic career at SCAD and was named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll and as an NAIA Scholar Athlete. This spring, Vaccaro served as a captain and totaled 49 goals and 23 assists, while adding 22 ground balls, to help the Bees to their second consecutive NAIA National Invitational Championship. She was named to the 2018 NAIA All-America first team, and also to the National Championship All-tournament team.