March 8, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. -- Naval Academy senior Beth Reed (Indianapolis, Ind.) has been named one of 58 student-athletes nationally and just one of six Division I women's soccer players to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, the organization announced recently.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships, 87 for men and 87 for women, annually. The winners (29 men and 29 women) represent fall-sports participants who will receive one-time, nonrenewable grants of $7,500. The NCAA will name postgraduate scholars for winter and spring sports later this year.

"It's a great opportunity, and I'm very excited and thankful that the NCAA offers an award like this, aiming to help out athletes who wish to further their education," said Reed. "Over the last year or so, I have been entertaining the idea of going to graduate school before heading to the fleet, and this will definitely help in making that a reality."

"Beth's athletic and academic accomplishments are truly special, but what impresses me the most is the character, loyalty, and dedication she demonstrates across all facets life," said Navy women's soccer head coach Carin Gabarra. "She performs each activity with terrific dedication and energy that we all envy and there is no doubt that her competitive spirit will be evident in any career path she chooses to follow."

Earlier this year, Reed earned First-Team Academic All-America honors and was named the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Women's Soccer Academic All-American of the Year. She is the first of the Naval Academy's 58 Academic All-Americans to receive the top Academic All-America award for a specific sport or combined-sport award program.

A mechanical engineering major, Reed owns a 3.95 grade-point average and ranks third in Overall Order of Merit among the 1,068 midshipmen in the Class of 2010. She has held the top ranking in her class in Academic Order of Merit in five of her six semesters at the Academy. The Indianapolis native also ranks fourth among her classmates in Military Order of Merit, has been recognized on the Commandant's List in each of her seven semesters and named to Superintendent's List six times.

In her first year as the team's starting keeper, Reed allowed a conference-low 0.67 goals per contest, while posting a Navy senior class record nine solo shutouts (including a conference-best four in Patriot League play) and the 10th-best save percentage in the country (.875) on her way to earning 2009 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year honors. In addition to being named the conference's top netminder, Reed also became Navy's fourth Patriot League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient, joining her predecessor in goal Lizzie Barnes in 2008, Kate Macfarlane in 2001 and Nicole Aunapu in 1997 and 1998.

Despite being in her first year as a full-time starter, Reed quickly rose up the Navy soccer single-season and career lists thanks to a banner 2009 campaign. Her efforts this fall rank hrrer among the top-five all-time in saves (95, 5th), save percentage (.875, 4th), shutouts (9, 4th) and GAA (0.69, 5th) on Navy's single-season charts. Meanwhile, Reed produced a 20-5-2 career record in 45 career appearances with a 0.63 goals-against average and .868 save percentage (125 saves / 139 SOG), both which rank first in Midshipmen history.

Reed has also served as a member of Navy's women's basketball team in each of the last two seasons. This winter, she has appeared in 19 games, averaging 10.6minutes per contest, for the Midshipmen women.

For more information about the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, go to the Diversity and Inclusion link under the About the NCAA tab at www.ncaa.org.