Wellesley Rowers Earn CRCA Postseason Honors

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Three Wellesley College rowers earned recognition from the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) as announced on Monday.  Wellesley senior Kate Spelman (Scituate, MA) was named to the All-America team, while Spelman, junior Hannah Woodruff (Longmeadow, MA) and sophomore Shernaz Dossabhoy (Belmont, MA) represented the Blue with national academic honors.

Spelman becomes just the fourth Wellesley rower named to the All-American team during head coach Tessa Spillane's tenure, and is the only first-team All-America selection in program history.  A captain of this season's squad, Spelman was named both a NEWMAC and a Seven Sisters All-Conference selection, and will stroke the first varsity boat in the upcoming NCAA Championships. 

"Kate is an incredibly competitive, intuitive and dominant athlete. She is a leader on and off the water. Her leadership is not just because she is a captain – she has a natural proclivity toward leading and has a voice that delivers a clear, passionate and wise message," remarks Head Coach Spillane.

An Art History major, Spelman has a long list of acdemic accomplishments as well, earning her third selection to the CRCA's National Scholar-Athlete team.  She was also a finalist for Wellesley's Barbara Barnes Hauptfuhrer Scholar-Athlete Award, was co-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is a three-year NEWMAC All-Academic selection.

Joining Spelman in receiving National Scholar-Athlete honors were Hannah Woodruff and Shernaz Dossabhoy. Woodruff, a History major, earns the first CRCA academic honor of her career.  Earlier this spring, she was named to the NEWMAC All-Academic team and she was also a 2008 NEWMAC All-Novice Team selection.  Dossabhoy, a German Language and Literature major, earns her initial CRCA academic honor and was also named to the NEWMAC All-Academic team. 

All-American candidates are nominated by their institution, and are selected based on their season record, strength of schedule, 2k score, and coach's recommendation. National Scholar-Athletes are recognized in their second through fourth years of eligibility for maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher during their career.