Tuesday, May 5, 2009

THREE MORAVIAN STUDENT-ATHLETES HONORED WITH LVAIAW AWARDS

BETHLEHEM, PA --- Three Moravian College student-athletes, seniors Tracy Fitzpatrick (Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional HS) and Maria DeBonis (Nazareth, PA/Notre Dame HS) and junior Anna Heim (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown HS), were honored with awards at the 2009 Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Annual Awards luncheon at Starters Riverport Tuesday.

The LVAIAW is made up of seven schools, Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Moravian and Muhlenberg College. For more information on the LVAIAW, vist www.LVAIAW.org.

Fitzpatrick, who was named Moravian’s Co-LVAIAW Outstanding Athlete for the school and the Women’s Soccer Most Outstanding Athlete, was named the Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, and she led the 2008 Greyhounds in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points including three game-winning goals and her first two career hat tricks.  Fitzpatrick, pictured at right, also helped Moravian to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year as the team was 14-6-2 and won its first-ever conference title by winning the 2008 Landmark Conference Tournament. Fitzpatrick, whomissed the entire 2006 season due to an injury, is third in school history with 87 points in her career of 33 goals, ranked third in the record books, and 21 assists, which is tied for second, in just three seasons

DeBonis, who was named a Louisville Slugger/NFCA Second Team All-American in 2007 when Moravian reached the World Series, has a 14-7 record in the circle this spring.  She has added four shutouts, a save and a 1.60 ERA to go with 89 hits allowed, 42 runs, 26 earned runs, 43 walks and 158 strikeouts in 146 innings of action.  At the plate, DeBonis, pictured at left, has a .341 average with 42 hits in 123 at-bats, 25 runs, 24 RBIs, eight doubles, a triple, two homers, 17 walks and three stolen bases.  DeBonis, who was the Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year last season while making the Landmark All-Conference First Team as both a pitcher and a designated player each of the last two years, also has seven putouts and 14 assists in 22 chances in the field.  DeBonis made the All-Region First Team in 2007 and 2008.

Heim was honored as the LVAIAW Outstanding Athlete in field.  During the indoor season, Heim won the Landmark Conference title in the pole vault, and she was also the runner-up at the 2009 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships to earn All-America honors for the third time in her career with a school record vault of 3.86 meters (12 feet, eight inches).  Heim, pictured at right, was second at the 2009 ECAC Division III Indoor Championships.  Outdoors, Heim won the 2009 Landmark Conference title, her sixth conference championship in the event, and she won the Women’s College Pole Vault at the Penn Relays.  Heim tied her own school record on April 18th at 3.87 meters (12 feet, 8 ¼ inches) to win the Greyhound Invitational and automatically qualify for the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championships to be held May 21st to 23rd at Marietta College.  She will also compete at the 2009 ECAC Division III Outdoor Championships on May 14th & 15th at Springfield College.