June 27, 2006

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason's women's lacrosse team was honored today for its hard work in the classroom, earning designation by the IWLCA as a Division I Honor Squad. In addition, three Mason athletes received individual honors, and were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll.

Redshirt junior defender Katie Linnertz

The Patriots were among 42 Division I teams to receive designation as an Honor Squad due to their high academic standing. Teams must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for the award. The four schools with the highest team GPAs - Hofstra University (3.6), University of Vermont (3.38), Stanford University (3.3) and Yale University (3.3) all earned IWLCA Merit Squad status.

In addition to the team award, three Mason athletes - redshirt junior defender Katie Linnertz, junior midfielder Melissa Curry and junior attacker Melissa Venturi - were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 and have junior or senior academic standing.

Linnertz, a Government and International Politics major, made the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive season, joining former Patriots' Lisa Hagan, Faith Klapinski, Cara McFadden, Jeannine Ohler and Tracy Waterson as two-time honorees. The native of Syracuse, N.Y. currently ranks eighth in the Patriots' all-time record book with 72 caused turnovers in her career.

Junior midfielder Melissa Curry

Curry hails from Edgewater, Md. and is excelling in her major of Biology, with a 3.40 GPA at George Mason. In addition to her success in the classroom, she is also a standout on the field, as she was selected Second-Team All-CAA last season and ranks among the career leaders at George Mason in both draw controls and caused turnovers. She is tied for 12th in draw controls (52) and sixth in caused turnovers (84).

Venturi had an outstanding junior year, both academically and athletically. In the classroom, the native of Sewell, N.J. has compiled a 3.78 GPA while majoring in Exercise Science. On the field, Venturi had a breakout year last season, scoring 39 goals and dishing out 11 assists for a total of 50 points, all career highs. She ranks 11th all-time at Mason in career goals (64), 10th in points (90) and tied for 16th in draw controls (46).