Women's Rowing Program Receives Multiple CRCA Honors

McFarland & Stimpson garner regional honors; six earn academic accolade

	Navy women's crew

May 28, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy women's rowing program was well represented on the list of postseason accolades awarded and announced by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Wednesday.

Headlining the laurels for Navy was recent graduate Fiona McFarland (Southampton, N.Y.) who earned First-Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors. The 2008 recipient of Navy's Vice Adm. Lawrence Sword for Women (presented to the woman of the graduating class who is considered to have personally excelled in women's athletics during her years of varsity competition), McFarland competed with the varsity boat in every race during her four-year career. The boat compiled a 64-19 regular season record over her career, including a 13-4 record this spring. She previously was named second team all region in 2006. With her first-team award this year, the 2008 Navy team captain will now be considered for All-America accolades by the organization.

McFarland also was one of six Mids tabbed as a National Scholar-Athlete by the CRCA. This honor is given to those student-athletes who are at least a sophomore standing in the classroom, have posted a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and compete in at least 75 percent of the team's races during the spring season.

A political science major, McFarland compiled a 3.59 GPA during her academic career at Navy. Joining McFarland in receiving the accolade were Kelsey Cellon (So., Virginia Beach, Va.), 3.90, mechanical engineering; Kerry Hannon (Jr., Bethesda, Md.), 3.88, honors applied math; Catherine Ortman (Sr., Moline, Ill.), 3.94, ocean engineering; Sarah Roberts (Sr., Findlay, Ohio), 3.50, aerospace engineering; and Megan Selbach-Allen (Jr., Odessa, Wash.), 3.87, math.

McFarland previously was named as a National Scholar-Athlete in both 2006 and '07, while Hannon, Ortman, Roberts and Selbach-Allen earned the accolade last year.

Rounding out the honors for Navy was Nicky Stimpson, who was recognized as the Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the third time in the last five years (2004, '05). The award is "designed to recognize an assistant coach or associate head coach who meets one or more of the following criteria: Outstanding commitment to his/her program, made a significant impact on the success of his/her program and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach." She now joins the recipients of the award from the other four regions as nominees for the national assistant coach-of-the-year accolade.

In addition to coaching Navy's novice boats during the 2007 fall season, Stimpson coached Navy's varsity four boat to an undefeated record during the 2008 regular season and a victory at this spring's Patriot League Championship.