April 22, 2009

River Forest, IL - The Dominican University Department of Athletics announced on Tuesday evening the winners of the department's annual Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year Awards with cross country's Megan Vaccaro capturing the award on the women's side.

Vaccaro, a 4'11" junior, ran through the competition in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), racing all the way to the NAC Championship on November 1, 2008, as she completed the conference course in a time of 22:40. It was Vaccaro's second individual championship of the season as she topped the field at the Benedictine University Eagle Invite on October 10, to claim her first-ever collegiate title.

At the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional hosted by Augustana College on November 11, Vaccaro narrowly missed becoming the first Dominican University runner to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships, as she turned in a 17th place finish, covering the six-kilometer course in a school record 22:38.

Vaccaro topped the field of four nominees for the Female Student-Athlete of the Year Award, beating out volleyball's sophomore Darcy Kammeier (Kirkwood, MO), softball's junior Carolyn Rogers (Moline, IL) and basketball's senior Lindsey Trent (Frankfort, IN) for the 2009 honor. Kammeier and Trent were the top offensive players on the volleyball and basketball teams respectively, leading both programs to their best seasons in recent history. Rogers currently ranks third in nation in NCAA Division III for batting average, posting a blistering .553 batting average with 12 doubles and six home runs.