INDIANAPOLIS Three-time national champion rower Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) has been awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, one of 58 student-athletes from around the country to receive the prestigious $5,000 award. The NCAA annually awards scholarships to 29 men and 29 women who participated in spring sports, which included men's baseball, women's softball, rowing, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, equestrian, men's and women's lacrosse, water polo, and men's and women's outdoor track and field.
A three-year varsity rower at Washington, Mickelson won NCAA championships in the varsity four as a freshman, in the varsity eight as a junior in 2001 when the Huskies won the team title, and again with the varsity eight this season.
For Mickelson, one of Washington¹s most decorated student-athletes, it is another in a long line of awards the senior has received during her career. She is a two-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Academic All-American and a three-time Pacific-10 Conference all-academic selection. Mickelson is a three-time All-Pac-10 First Team honoree and is on the ballot for the national all-America awards that have not yet been announced. She was named Washington¹s top student-athlete at graduation ceremonies this month.
The NCAA scholarship is in addition to the Pac-10 Conference postgraduate scholarship Mickelson earned earlier this month.
Mickelson, who graduated this month with a degree in communications and a 3.6 grade point average, is currently at the U.S. National Team Selection Camp in Princeton, NJ. She was a member of the U.S. women¹s eight-oared crew that finished fourth at the 2001 World Championships and is vying for a spot on the 2002 championship team.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.
In addition to the spring sport honorees, the NCAA also awards 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and winter sports in which the NCAA conducts championships, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually.
Candidates are screened by seven regional selection committees and the winners are selected by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.