Feb. 18, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Navy senior Kelly Zahalka was voted the Patriot League Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday. Zahalka earned the award for the third-straight year and is the first women's swimming and diving student-athlete in Patriot League history to earn the prestigious award three times.

Zahalka, the 2008 Patriot League Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for all sports, is ranked third overall in her class of 1,074 students and has a cumulative grade-point average of 4.00. The Richmond, Va., native and honors history major was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in the fall of 2008. Zahalka was one of 65 juniors nationwide to earn a Marshall Scholarship in May 2008, which will allow her to attend graduate school in the United Kingdom, and was an exchange student during the fall 2008 term at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China. The senior has selected service in the U.S. Marine Corps and will begin serving after she obtains her graduate degree.

Zahalka resumed training and competing for the Navy swimming team after she returned from China in early January and will compete in this weekend's Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships. The senior earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors in each of her three completed seasons, and has totaled six individual even titles in her career at the Patriot League Championship. Zahalka holds Patriot League Championship records in the 200 fly (2:03.02), the 400 IM (4:22.95) and the 800 free relay, and her 10 overall league titles puts her in a tie for 10th place in League history.

To be eligible for the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen are not eligible for this honor.

The Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor.