Scherer Named C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year
LAWRENCE, Kan. – One year after accepting the Big 12’s inaugural Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, Jayhawk senior Elizabeth Scherer claimed the honor in Kansas rowing’s dual league when Conference USA named Scherer the 2014 C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year Wednesday.
Scherer worked her way up to the First Varsity Eight boat following her sophomore season and proceeded to earn All-Big 12 honors during her junior and senior campaigns. Voted the 2014 Kansas Oarswoman of the Year by her coaches and teammates, Scherer accumulated three victories, 22 top-five finishes and 27 total top-10 finishes as a member of the First Varsity Eight.
The Wamego, Kansas, native was equally impressive – if not more so – away from the water. In May, Scherer graduated with a 3.97 GPA in the exercise science/pre-physical therapy program. As Kansas rowing competes in both the Big 12 and C-USA for NCAA qualifying purposes, Scherer was eligible to win the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award last year only to follow that with the same honor for C-USA in 2014.
“I don’t like to talk about myself or brag, but this does make me really happy,” Scherer said. “Being in both conferences, there is always more competition, so it’s exciting. I am involved in a lot of things, but I feel like there are so many people that are more involved so I was surprised to win. This is great.”
Though her list of academic accolades is extensive even for one conference, Scherer made the most of her dual-league opportunity. Her highlights included: three-consecutive C-USA All-Academic Team selections, three Big 12 All-Academic First Team selections, the recipient of the Dr. Gerald Lage Award (the Big 12 Conference’ highest academic honor), four-consecutive C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medals, eight-time member of both the Dean’s List and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and a three-time recipient of the “Class of 2000” Team Academic Award.
“She has had a really outstanding academic career at KU and performed well in the boats, so this is very well-deserved,” head coach Rob Catloth said. “There are several young women on our team like her and we’re proud of that. That’s how she was raised and that’s how she goes through life. That’s just Liz.”
While her athletic and academic resume provides plenty of award-worthy material, Scherer sealed the deal with her dedication to community service and furthering her education. She completed 640 hours as a Byrd Physical Therapy Intern and then another 100 hours as a KU Exercise/Sport Science Lab Research Assistant. Scherer volunteered for more than 50 hours at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, worked with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students on campus and served a member of the Student Union Activities Films and Media Committee, Special Events Committee and Culinary Committee for three years.
“The patients I work with make me feel special all of the time,” Scherer said. “But that’s how I was raised, to always be involved. If I have nothing on my agenda for the day, then something is wrong. I’ve enjoyed it so much and working in the medical field is great. Rowing definitely helped me get there.”
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