University of North Carolina Athletics
Dawson Named ACC Scholar-Athlete For Field Hockey
February 29, 2008 | Field Hockey
Feb. 29, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina's Rachel Dawson has been selected as the 2007 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for field hockey, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford announced Friday.
The ACC Scholar-Athlete Award was established in September to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sport. Candidates for the award must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as a 3.0 during the last two semesters.
In the inaugural year of the award, Tar Heel student-athletes have been the recipients of two of the six honors for fall sports. In addition to Dawson's recognition, UNC's Yael Averbuch was announced Thursday as the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's soccer.
A senior defender for North Carolina's 2007 national championship squad, Dawson was named to the All-ACC Academic Field Hockey Team for the second time in '07. A six-time Dean's List honoree at UNC, she is a three-time member of the NFHCA National Academic Squad and a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Dawson graduated with distinction in December from UNC's Kenan-Flagler School of Business. She also has been honored by the ACC with a Weaver-James-Corrigan Award.
In 2007, Dawson scored 19 goals as the Tar Heels recorded a perfect 24-0 record en route to the national title. For her play, the Berlin, N.J., native was selected as the recipient of the Honda Sports Award, given annually to the nation's top player. In addition to her national honors, Dawson was chosen as the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year and the ACC Championship MVP.
Her No. 9 jersey has been retired by UNC. The honor was announced on Sunday, when Dawson and the field hockey team were honored at halftime of the men's basketball win over Wake Forest.
