June 16, 2005

Queens, NY - St. John's University senior women's golfer Jaclyn Sanders (Brights Grove, Ontario, Canada) was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America University Division Women's At-Large third team, it was announced today.

To be selected, a student-athlete must carry at least a 3.2 grade-point average and be a significant contributor to their team. After being selected to the first team on one of eight district ballots, student-athletes are then place on the national ballot. The University Division Women's At-Large team is made up of students from Division I schools who participate in bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis and water polo.

Sanders, who carried a dual major in English and sports management, graduated with a 3.99 grade-point average. She earned first-team Academic All-District I honors, putting her on the national ballot, where she took home third team honors, the first women's golfer in St. John's history to be named an Academic All-American.

"Jaclyn was a great leader, one of those kids who led by example," St. John's Head Coach Ambry Bishop said. "Her academic success speaks for itself. She was one of the hardest workers on the golf course and in the classroom. This is a great honor for her and I'm thrilled for her."

Sanders was one of the Red Storm's top golfers this season, leading St. John's to five tournament championships, including the 2005 BIG EAST Championship. At the BIG EAST Tournament, Sanders shot an 81, good for fourth place a spot on the All-Conference team. Sanders was also a recipient of the BIG EAST/Aeropostale Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.

She was one of two St. John's University female student-athletes who had been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I team in late May, joining women's fencer Erszebet Garay (Budapest, Hungary).

Garay put forth one of the most spectacular performances at the 2005 NCAA Championships, dropping only two bouts during the two-day competition. She finished fourth place overall in the foil competition at the NCAA Championships after posting an impressive 20-1 record in the regular season. A sophomore finance major, Garay boasts a 3.91 GPA.

Sanders joined senior men's soccer player Matt Groenwald (Mt. Prospect, IL) as one of two Academic All-Americans from the University this year, and she was one of four St. John's student-athletes to earn all-district honors, joining Groenwald, Garay and senior men's fencer Sergey Isayenko (Cherkassy, Ukraine). St. John's student-athletes received numerous academic honors, with the men's and women's soccer teams and the volleyball team each earning team awards from their respective coaches' associations.