Two W&L Student-Athletes Awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Washington and Lee senior swimmer Paul Crook (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell) and senior cross country and track & field athlete Elizabeth Webb (Middleburg, Va./Wakefield) have been awarded National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarships. The awards are a $7,500 scholarship for academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

Crook and Webb were two of 58 student-athletes (29 men and 29 women) from all NCAA Divisions to receive the scholarship after participating in a winter sport. The NCAA awards 174 scholarships annually in the fall, winter and spring seasons. Crook and Webb's selections give W&L 11 winners in the last seven years and 30 W&L athletes have been so honored since 1970.

Crook, a chemistry major, was a four-year letterwinner for the Generals and served as a team captain as a senior. He was a nine-time All-American and a four-time All-Bluegrass Mountain Conference honoree.

He earned First Team All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Championship meet as a member of the sixth-place finishing 400 free relay (3:02.53) and the eighth-place finishing 800 free relay (6:45.44). He was also an Honorable Mention All-America selection in 2008 for his 11th place finish in the 200 free (1:40.82) as well as his 16th place finish in the 500 free (4:37.79). As a senior, he garnered Honorable Mention All-America accolades as a member of the 400 free relay that captured 15th place at NCAA's. Crook currently holds school records in the 500 free (4:32.91), as well as being a member of the 400 medley relay (3:26.29) and the 800 free relay (6:44.57).

"I am very honored to have been selected for this award and appreciative for the opportunities I was able to take advantage of at W&L," said Crook. "Receiving this award is very gratifying and would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of my coaches and professors and their encouragement along the way.  I would like to thank my coach, Joel Shinofield, along with Jan Hathorn, Dr. Erich Uffelman, and Dr. Ellen Mayock for their endorsement and recommendations in this award process."

A biochemistry major, Webb is a four-year letterwinner and team captain for both the cross country and track & field teams.  As a cross country runner, she was a two-time First Team All-ODAC and First Team All-South/Southeast Region selection.  She finished second at the 2008 ODAC Championship (21:41.75) and qualified for the 2008 NCAA Championship, where she finished 115th out of 280 runners.

In track & field, Webb helped lead the Generals to their first-ever ODAC Indoor Track & Field Championship this winter after winning the 800 meters (2:20.92) and mile (5:10.59) in ODAC Championship Meet Record times. She has twice been named the ODAC Outdoor Championship Performer of the Meet and has collected the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for both indoor and outdoor track & field each of the past two seasons.  This winter, she also competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, placing ninth in the mile run (5:03.90).

An Indoor Track & Field Academic All-American and recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Webb holds indoor school records for the 800 meters (2:20.46), mile (5:00.91) and distance medley relay (12:28.91) and the outdoor school records for the 800 meters (2:17.34) and the 1,500 meters (4:37.90).

"I am both honored and thrilled to receive this scholarship," said Webb. "This scholarship marks one of the first steps in the realization of my dream of becoming a doctor. I would like to thank Dr. Erich Uffelman, Dr. Ellen Mayock, coach Nate Hoey and coach Kris Hoey not only for facilitating this application process, but also for their unwavering encouragement.  The support and guidance of these professors and coaches has shaped me into the student-athlete I am today."

Upon graduation, Crook will be attending medical school at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, while Webb will be traveling to Australia on a Fulbright Scholarship to study melanoma at the University of Queensland. She hopes to attend medical school when she returns stateside.

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