Deacon Selected First-Team Academic All-District
5/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
May 22, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Five Michigan State student-athletes were named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA 2008 Academic All-Distric teams, as announced today by ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America. Rower Kate Burdick (Ann Arbor, Mich.), field hockey player Jeamie Deacon (Wexford, Ireland) and hockey player Jeff Lerg (Livonia, Mich.) are first-team members, while women's golfer Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) and hockey player Jeff Dunne (Grover, Mo.) are second-team members.
Burdick, a senior from Ann Arbor, Mich., is now a two-time first team member, having earned the honor last year. She owns a 3.99 GPA as a kinesiology major. Burdick rowed in the 2008 Big Ten Championship varsity eight crew in Ann Arbor on May 3, as the boat earned its second conference title en route to the team's overall championship. Burdick has been a member of MSU's team for both of the Spartan Big Ten titles (2005, 2008). She was honored for her performance this year, being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. In April, Burdick was honored with Michigan State's President's Award, given to the graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA. Last year, she was honored at MSU's Student-Athlete Support Services Academic Gala for having the highest GPA on the team.
Deacon garnered first-team honors after earning a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a civil engineering major. A native of Wexford, Ireland, Deacon was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFCHA) National Academic Team. She also contributed to the team's academic achievement, as the Spartans were recognized as a team with a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the second-consecutive year. Deacon was a standout on the field in her first year for the Spartans as well, leading the team in total points (32), while ranking third in goals (12) and fourth in assists (8). For her efforts, she was named to the NFCHA All-America Second Team, All-Big Ten First Team and All-Region First Team. She ranked second in the Big Ten in total points, and finished tied for 33rd in the nation in points per game (1.52) and tied for 45th in goals per game (0.57). Deacon led the team to the second-best Big Ten record (5-1) in 2007 and the second-best overall record (16-6) in the Big Ten.
The hockey program sports both a first and second team selection - Lerg, a junior goaltender, boasts a 3.75 grade point average as a finance major, while Dunne has a 3.77 and is a crop and soil science major. Lerg was named the CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the team's selection to the CCHA Scholar-Athlete team in each of the last two seasons; Dunne's was the team's selection as a sophomore in 2006. Both are regulars at MSU's Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) Academic Gala, where Dunne was honored this past spring for owning the hockey program's top grade point average. Dunne was also the recepient of the Charles E. and Frances M. Osterman Scholarship through the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.
Lerg's list of accomplishments this season was lengthy - he was a Hobey Baker finalist, a second-team AHCA All-American, a first-team All-CCHA selection, and Player of the Year finalist. Most recently, he was named the Michgian College Athlete of the Year and was one of five finalists for the AAU's Sullivan Award, honoring the top amateur athlete in the United States. Dunne is a stay-at-home defenseman who helped bolster one of the stingiest defensive units in the country, as the Spartans ranked 12th nationally in team defense (2.33 goals against per game).
Brown, a family and community services major, finished her career as the school's all-time scoring leader with a 75.27 stroke average. She also has the top-two single-season averages, including a school-record 74.08 this season, and three of the top-six. Her play this season ranks her No. 21 in the nation by Golfstat and No. 25 by Golfweek/Sagarin, as she has seven top-10 finishes in the team's 12 events. Among those outings, she has three individual tournament titles, which ties for second all-time in a MSU single-season. Brown was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the third-consecutive season and has been a member of the Academic All-Big Ten Team since her sophomore season.
