Date: June 4, 2003
Contact: Brian Laubscher (540) 458-8676
Release: Upon Receipt

PROKO NAMED ODAC FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Senior Women's Tennis Player W&L's First Honoree Since 1997

Senior Erika Proko

SALEM, Va. -- Washington and Lee senior women's tennis player Erika Proko (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) has been named the recipient of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's (ODAC) Marjorie Berkley Award presented to the league's top female scholar-athlete.

Proko is the first W&L athlete to garner the ODAC Scholar-Athlete award since Sandy Hooper was presented the male award following the 1997 season. Virginia Wesleyan's John Tomasheski was presented the 2003 "Doc" Jopson Award given to the top male scholar-athlete.

A neuroscience major with a 3.68 cumulative grade-point average, Proko recently completed a stellar athletic and academic career at W&L. A six-time All-American and the 2003 ODAC Player of the Year, she helped lead the Generals' women's tennis team to a school-record 24 wins and runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament this season. An All-American in both singles and doubles in 2003, Proko graduates from W&L with a 92-20 mark in singles and 104-27 in doubles. The program's all-time leader in doubles wins, she teamed with Hagerman to post a single-season school-record 30 wins and form the nation's top-ranked doubles duo this year. She reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles at the NCAA Tournament.

A nominee for the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, Proko is a three-time Verizon Academic All-District selection who earned First Team Academic All-State honors from the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association this spring.

Proko has been involved with the ODAC and NCAA as a member both organizations' Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC). She currently serves as the NCAA Division III SAAC chair.

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