July 23, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Four members of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team have been selected to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) academic honor roll for the 2007 campaign. Seniors Kristin Hopson (Rosemont, Pa.) and Meghan Murphy (Centennial, Colo.) were chosen for the second consecutive year while juniors Mary Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) and Caitlin McKinney (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) were chosen for the first time. The four Notre Dame players were among 157 Division I women’s lacrosse juniors and seniors with 3.5 grade-point averages or better to be honored by the coaches’ association. Across all three Divisions, the IWLCA honored 410 student-athletes for their academic achievements.
As a team, the Irish were also among 43 Division I women’s lacrosse programs to take IWLCA all-academic squad honors as teams with a 3.0 grade-point average or better for the second semester of the 2006-07 academic year. The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team had a 3.20 grade point average for the spring semester.
Senior Meghan Murphy joins Kristin Hopson as two-time IWLCA academic honor roll selections from Notre Dame (photo by Matt Cashore).
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Hopson was selected to the IWLCA academic honor roll for the second time in her career after graduating in May with a 3.639 grade-point average and a degree in psychology. She was the women’s lacrosse team’s winner of the 2007 Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award for her work in the classroom. A three-year starter on the Notre Dame defense, Hopson helped the Irish to an 11-6 record during 2007 while recording 19 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and two draw controls. A three-time monogram winner at Notre Dame, Hopson played in 55 games in her career, making 45 starts, including 35 starts in the last 36 games. A three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, she recorded 60 ground balls, caused 21 turnovers and had nine draw controls over four years and was a member of two NCAA tournament teams.
Murphy was also named to the IWLCA academic honor roll for the second time in her career after finishing her academic career with a 3.771 grade-point average in her double major of anthropology and pre-professional studies. She will attend medical school in the fall at Georgetown. The winner of a BIG EAST postgraduate scholarship, Murphy was a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star during her career. Earlier this year, she was named the winner of the IWLCA’s Community Awareness Award and was honored at the IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American Banquet. On the field, Murphy finished the season fifth in scoring with career highs in goals (18), assists (17) and points (35) in helping the Irish to an 11-6 record. In 2005-06, Murphy was a third-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA academic All-America selection on the women’s at-large team and was the winner of the team’s Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award for her work in the classroom. She also received the University’s prestigious Christopher Zorich Service Award for her community service work both in the South Bend community and her hometown of Denver, Colo. In 2006-07 she served as the vice-president of the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She capped her career as a student-athlete by receiving Notre Dame’s most prestigious honor this spring, when she received the Byron V. Kanaley Award. This award is given to senior athletes who have been most exemplary throughout their careers as students and athletes. In 54 career games, Murphy had 49 goals and 30 assists for 79 points and was a member of two NCAA tournament teams.
Carpenter was named to the IWLCA academic honor roll for the first time in her career in 2007 as the junior midfielder owns a 3.969 grade-point average in her double major of psychology and pre-professional studies. She has recorded a perfect 4.0 mark in five of her six semesters at Notre Dame. A three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, Carpenter was named a third team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American in May on the at-large team. A three-year regular in the Irish midfield and a two-year starter for coach Tracy Coyne’s team, Carpenter battled injuries during the 2007 campaign but still started 13 of the team’s 17 games, scoring 10 goals with one assist for 11 points on the year. She grabbed 11 ground balls, was fourth on the team with 17 draw controls and had three caused turnovers. For her career, Carpenter has played in 51 career games, starting 31 games. She was a second team all-BIG EAST and IWLCA all-region choice as a sophomore when she had 22 points and a team-leading 51 ground balls.
Junior Caitlin McKinney, Notre Dame’s second leading scorer, was one of four Notre Dame players selected to the IWLCA academic honor roll for 2007 (photo by Matt Cashore).
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McKinney is the fourth member of the team selected to the IWLCA Academic honor roll, as she turned in a 3.522 grade-point average as both a sociology major and a film, television and theatre major at Notre Dame. A three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, McKinney is a two-time IWLCA All-American, taking third team honors in 2006 and second team honors this season as she finished second on the team in scoring with 44 goals and 21 assists for 65 points on the year. She finished the season with a 39-game point streak that started on April 24, 2005 during her freshman year. During her career, the speedster has started 50 of 51 games and already ranks fourth all-time in goals scored (114), fifth in assists (55) and fourth in points with 169. A unanimous first team All-BIG EAST selection in each of the last two seasons, McKinney is a three-time IWLCA all-region selection. Besides taking IWLCA All-American honors this season, the Irish attack standout was also named third team Inside Lacrosse All-America and second team by All-America by womenslacrosse.com. She and teammate Jillian Byers (So., Northport, N.Y.) became the first Irish players to be named to all three All-American teams twice in their careers during 2007.