FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-083-07-08
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Elizabethtown College Student-Athletes Kelly Downs and Erin Fisher Earn NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College seniors Kelly Downs (Airville, PA/Red Lion) and Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run) are among 58 recipients of NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for fall sports student-athletes, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

Both Downs and Fisher will receive one-time, non-renewable educational grants of $7,500 through the program, which was founded in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the NCAA's most accomplished student-athletes.

Elizabethtown College was one of six schools with multiple recipients, joining Stanford University (4), the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (3), North Carolina State University (3), Nebraska Wesleyan University (2) and Oklahoma State University (2).

Downs and Fisher were each recognized as conference Player of the Year as they led their respective squads to conference titles and qualification in the NCAA Division III championships. They were also each honored by the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation (MASCAC) as Scholar-Athletes for the 2007 fall sports season.

Downs, the Academic All-American of the Year in volleyball, was an honorable mention All-America selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), a member of the AVCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region team and the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year as well as a first-team Academic All-District selection.

She finished the season with a school-record 511 kills and led the conference in kills, hitting percentage (.378) and blocks (181) as the Blue Jays won their first-ever Commonwealth Conference championship. A four-time All-Conference selection, she finished her career as Elizabethtown's all-time leader with 1,532 kills and 585 blocks.

Academically, Downs has a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average as an occupational therapy major at Elizabethtown.

Fisher finished 15th at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country championships to earn first-team All-America honors, and was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the Mideast Region Athlete of the Year in women's cross country after winning the NCAA Mideast Regional title and her second straight MAC individual championship.

In seven races this season, Fisher recorded three wins and three second-place finishes while leading the Blue Jays to the MAC team title, a fourth-place finish at the Mideast Regional meet and a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Academically, Fisher maintains a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average as a double major in biology and mathematics.