Posted: 05/08/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the third consecutive year, Lehigh senior shortstop Jen Colquhoun has been voted the Patriot League’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball, it was announced Tuesday. On a day when she was also named Patriot League Player of the Year, Colquhoun becomes the first Patriot League student-athlete to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons.
Colquhoun becomes the fifth softball student-athlete in league history to capture Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards in the same season and the first in the league since 2005. She is the first Lehigh student-athlete to accomplish the feat, although former standout Lisa Sweeney won Pitcher of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards in 2009. Colquhoun is also one of three Mountain Hawks named to the Academic All-Patriot League team, which this year consists of ten players.
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Academic All-Patriot League teams are voted on by the league’s sports information directors. To be eligible for this honor, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport.
Colquhoun’s award is the eighth for Lehigh softball and the fifth in the last seven years, joining Kate Marvel in 2006 and Sweeney in 2009.
Colquhoun holds a 3.77 GPA majoring in biochemistry and is a multi-year member of the Dean’s List at Lehigh as well as the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Last week, the Oak Park, California native was named to the Academic All-District II team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), her third Academic All-District honor in as many years.
In addition, Colquhoun has served as a team representative and committee member for Lehigh’s award-winning community outreach C.O.A.C.H. program and has played a significant role in the program’s annual Adopt-A-Family event in December. She has previously participated in Science Education Alliance Programs for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Colquhoun is a two-time recipient of the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award and last year received Lehigh University’s Class of 1904 Scholarship Award. She received Lehigh Athletics’ Distinguished Achievement Award at last week’s honors convocation.
On the field, Colquhoun enjoyed the finest season of her four-year Brown and White career, batting .442 with a school record-tying 13 home runs and a Patriot League-leading 47 RBI. Colquhoun also leads the Patriot League in runs scored (48) and triples (six) and is tied for the league lead in 69 hits.
The Oak Park, Calif. native appeared in 18 of Lehigh’s 20 league games batting a league-best .533 with five home runs and 25 RBI in those games. Colquhoun is now a four-time All-Patriot League selection at shortstop and a three-time first team selection.
Colquhoun is joined on the Academic All-League team by senior first baseman Julie Fernandez and junior centerfielder Rosie Roessel. All three are repeat members of the team, which was established prior to the 2011 season.
Fernandez is a four-time first-team All-Patriot League selection on the field, while her academic highlights include her being one of ten national finalists for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. She carries a 3.33 GPA as a behavioral neuroscience major, while on the field she leads the Patriot League and ranks tenth nationally with a .445 batting average and is tied for the Lehigh and Patriot League career record with 275 hits.
Roessel carries a 3.77 GPA majoring in mathematics. A member of the Dean’s List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Roessel earned a 4.0 in her first semester at Lehigh and is a member of the Student-Athlete Council’s Alumni Relations committee as well as the Athletics Department’s emerging leaders program. On the field, Lehigh’s leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder hit .356 with 57 hits and 33 runs scored, while also stealing a team-best 20 bases.
The Mountain Hawks will open up the Patriot League tournament against rival Lafayette Thursday at noon from Kaufman Field. Live audio of the contest and all of Lehigh’s Patriot League tournament action will be available through Patriot League All-Access.