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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Pittsburgh volleyball standout Meagan Dooley, the 2009 BIG EAST Player of the Year, has been chosen as the 2009-10 BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
A senior from West Chester, Ohio, Dooley will receive a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The Conference also announced the winners of the institutional 2009-10 BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete awards. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies. Dooley is the fourth Pittsburgh student-athlete to be named Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the first since former track and field standout Najuma Fletcher was named in 1996.
Dooley is one of the most decorated volleyball players in BIG EAST history. In addition to her selection as the 2009 BIG EAST Player of the Year, Dooley was an All-America Third Team pick of the American Volleyball Coaches Assocation. She earned All-BIG EAST honors four times and finished the 2009 season as the BIG EAST leader in blocks (1.71 per set) and points (4.94 per set). She set Pittsburgh’s single-season blocks record (168) and finished her career in second place on the Panthers’ career blocks chart (519).
Dooley, who holds a 4.00 grade-point average as a liberal studies major was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team selection in 2009 and is a three-time BIG EAST All-Academic pick. She plans to pursue a master’s field of study in special education.
The BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference during the 2009-10 academic year. Thirty-two student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 16 member institutions) receive postgraduate scholarships as the winners of their respective institutions’ Scholar-Athlete Awards. The conference also names male and female Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and a Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2009-10 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards
Cincinnati
Jasmine Cotten Track & Field Psychology
Connecticut
Phylicia George Track & Field Biological Sciences
DePaul
Terah Cheatham Track & Field Biological Sciences
Georgetown
Katharine Thompson Rowing French
Louisville
Tarah McKay Cross Country/Track & Field Health & Human Performance
Marquette
Katie Miller Soccer Marketing and Human Resources
Notre Dame
Cosmina Ciobanu Tennis Pre-Professional Studies/Anthropology
Pittsburgh
Meagan Dooley Volleyball Liberal Studies
Providence
Katelyn Revens Softball Management
Rutgers
Erin Guthrie Soccer History
St. John’s
Renee Cloutier Golf Speech Pathology & Audiology
Seton Hall
Melissa Bellomy Volleyball Biochemistry
USF
Marcela Gurgel Volleyball Physical Education
Syracuse
Christina Dove Lacrosse Accounting & Finance
Villanova
Nicole Schappert Cross Country/Track & Field Marketing
West Virginia
Kimberly Benda Rowing Animal and Nutrition Sciences
BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
1985 Leigh Curl, Connecticut, Basketball
1986 Joanne Keehs, Villanova, Track & Field
1987 Karen Ferreria, Providence, Volleyball
1988 Noreen Coughlin, Pittsburgh, Volleyball
1989 Vicki Huber, Villanova, Track & Field
1990 Siobhan Gallagher, Providence, Track & Field
1991 Cami White, Providence, Field Hockey
1992 Kelly Larkin, Syracuse, Field Hockey
1993 Nnenna Lynch, Villanova, Track & Field
1994 Allison Williams, Pittsburgh, Track & Field
1995 Becky Spies, Villanova, Cross Cuntry/Track & Field
1996 Najuma Fletcher, Pittsburgh, Track & Field
1997 Jen Renola, Notre Dame, Soccer
1998 Charity Wachera, West Virginia, Track & Field
1999 Gladys Ganiel, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field
2000 Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame, Soccer
2001 Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, Basketball
2002 Jarrah Myers, Notre Dame, Softball
2003 Erin McIntyre, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving
2004 Vanessa Pruzinsky, Notre Dame, Soccer
2005 Nicole Lee, Georgetown, Cross Country/Track & Field
2006 Kelly Harrigan, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving
2007 Jessica Javelet, Louisville, Field Hockey
2008 Jillian Drouin, Syracuse, Track & Field
2009 Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, Field Hockey
2010 Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Volleyball
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