CAA Names Winter Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
RICHMOND, Va. (April 11, 2014) – Four student-athletes who were among the best in their sports both athletically and academically have been honored by the Colonial Athletic Association as recipients of the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for the winter sports season.
Earning Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors were William & Mary senior Tim Rusthoven in men’s basketball, James Madison senior Kirby Burkholder in women’s basketball, William & Mary senior Andrew Strait in men’s swimming and diving and Towson senior Melanie Rowland in women’s swimming and diving.
The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The winners were selected by a vote of the media relations directors at each CAA institution.
All four winter sports honorees were All-CAA selections in their various sports this season, including two who were chosen as the best in the conference in their sport.
Here is a brief biographical sketch on the award winners:
Tim Rusthoven, Sr., Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy – William & Mary (men’s basketball)
A senior majoring in business finance, Rusthoven was selected to the CAA All-Academic first team in men’s basketball for the third year in a row. He was a nominee for the NABC Allstate Good Works team and was also the recipient of the CAA’s prestigious Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, which honors a student-athlete for their leadership, integrity and sportsmanship through academic and athletic achievements. On the court, Rusthoven earned second-team All-CAA honors this season after making the third team in 2012-13. He led the CAA in field goal percentage (59%) and ranked 13th in scoring (12.1 ppg) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 rpg). Rusthoven is one of only six players in W&M history to compile over 1,200 points and 600 rebounds in a career and he ranks eighth on the Tribe’s all-time blocked shots list.
Kirby Burkholder, Sr., Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby – James Madison (women’s basketball)
A senior majoring in sport and recreation management with a minor in business, Burkholder made the CAA All-Academic team in women’s basketball for the third year in a row. She is a three-time JMU Athletic Director Scholar-Athlete and a three-year recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. On the court, Burkholder was selected as the CAA women’s basketball Player of the Year and the Player of the Year in the state of Virginia by the Richmond Times-Dispatch after leading JMU to the CAA regular-season and tournament titles. The Dukes’ guard ranked second in the league in scoring (18.6 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.7 rpg). She also shot a league-best 89.3% from the free throw line and drained 110 three-pointers, which was the second-highest season total in conference history. Burkholder ranks fifth in career points (1,647), third in career rebounds (929) and second in career 3-pointers (291) at JMU.
Andrew Strait, Sr., Henrico Va./Trinity Episcopal – William & Mary (men’s swimming & diving)
A senior majoring in mathematics, Strait is the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men’s swimming and diving for the third year in a row. He was a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-District honoree in 2013 and received the Bruce Davidson Award as the top rising-senior male athlete at W&M. He’s also a four-year member of the Provost’s List (3.5+ GPA) at W&M. In the pool, Strait became the first Tribe athlete to be chosen as the CAA Men’s Swimmer of the Year. He captured the 200 individual medley at the CAA Championship for the second year in a row in a meet record time of 1:46.59. Strait also repeated as conference champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and was a member of three first-place relay teams that set school records. Those efforts earned him Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second year in a row.
Melanie Rowland, Sr., Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills – Towson (women’s swimming & diving)
A senior with a double major in family science and psychology, Rowland is a repeat selection as the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women’s swimming and diving. She was a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-District selection in 2013 and received honorable mention Scholar All-America accolades from the CSCAA. In the pool, Rowland was the CAA champion in the 200 butterfly and set a meet record with a time of 1:56.36. She also placed third in the 200 freestyle, fourth in the 100 butterfly and was a member of the Tigers’ first-place 800 freestyle relay team to help lead Towson to its sixth conference championship in the past seven years. Rowland qualified for the NCAA Championship, where she swam the second-fastest time in school history in the 100 butterfly (53.77) and placed 22nd overall in the 200 butterfly (1:56.76).