University of Mary Washington - Index

University of Mary Washington - summer08 - Index

20
SPORTS
Pair Bounces into Limelight as
UMW Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Liz Hickey (left) and Justin Baker (right) were named the 2007-08 UMW female and male Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Baker, a graduate
business student, is the first athlete to earn the title twice. Hickey, a math major, claimed the fifth most career points in UMW history.
Liz Hickey ’08 and graduate student
Justin Baker ’07 have been named
the 2007-08 UMW female and male
Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Hickey, a three-time All-American
for the women’s basketball program,
now a national powerhouse, ended
her career as the NCAA Division III
all-time leader in career blocked
shots, with 509. A consensus first team
All-American, she scored 1,370 career
points, the fifth most in school history.
Hickey’s other accolades include being
named the Atlantic Region Player of
the Year, landing a first team all-region
selection, and becoming only the
third player in conference history to
twice take the title of Capital Athletic
UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE����������������
Conference Player of the Year. She also
was a finalist for the Jostens Trophy,
which is given to the NCAA Division III
National Player of the Year.
Hickey, a mathematics major, is a
member of the Alpha Phi Sigma honor
society and the UMW chapter of the
National Collegiate Honor Society. Born
with pectus excavatum, a condition
that caused her rib cage to constrict
her internal organs, Hickey played
three years at UMW with a steel bar in
her chest to alleviate the pressure. The
bar was removed prior to last season,
and Hickey led the Eagles to their third
straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
She finished at UMW with a career
record of 114 wins and 15 losses.
Baker is the first athlete ever to
take the title of Scholar-Athlete of the
Year twice. A UMW graduate student
working toward a master’s degree in
business administration, he finished
his brilliant four-year career as one of
the greatest players in school history,
ranking among the top five in program
history in points, assists, and rebounds.
A two-time all-region selection and a
finalist for the Jostens Trophy, Baker
earned all-conference honors three
times in his career.
A member of the Alpha Phi Sigma
and Sigma Beta Delta honor societies,
Baker is the recipient of the Ukrop’s/
First Merchants Bank Scholarship and
graduated magna cum laude in 2007.
Clint Often