By Olivia Coiro
Ellen Chambers, a redshirt senior on Lynn University’s top-ranked women’s golf team, is the recipient of the 2014 Elite 89 Award for the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship. Chambers becomes the first women’s golfer in school history to garner the prestigious award and the fourth student-athlete overall while this marks the third-consecutive academic year a Blue & White student-athlete has been honored with the Elite 89 Award.
“I am very honored and grateful to be this year’s recipient of the Elite 89 Award,” said Chambers. “The academic side of being a student-athlete is very important to me and I am privileged to be recognized for it.”
Chambers, an International Relations major, has carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout her career at Lynn. The Petrie, Australia, native was given the award on the eve of the opening round at the women’s golf banquet on Tuesday evening in Conover, N.C. Chambers was a finalist for the Elite 89 Award last year and was recently named Lynn’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Martin Wehlert of the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer National Championship squad was the most recent recipient of the Elite 89 Award for Lynn while soccer alum Harald Gracholski won the Elite 89 in 2011 and women’s tennis alum Christine Johnstone was the 2010 Elite 88 recipient.
“Ellen is so deserving of this award,” said Head Coach Danny Randolph. “She dedicates so much time and energy to both her academics and golf and she is the epitome of what the Elite 89 award stands for.”
The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two seasons with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and a designated member of the squad at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.