The Colonial Athletic Association honors one scholar-athlete in each of its 21 championship sports.
The Colonial Athletic Association announced that Elon University juniors Stephanie Asher of women’s lacrosse and Erica Braschi of women’s tennis have been named Spring Scholar-Athletes of the Year for their respective sports on Monday, June 19.
An exercise science major with a minor in psychology, Asher has been a member of the President’s List three times and has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll all six of her semesters at Elon while being a three-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award.
On the field, Asher had a standout 2017 campaign in which she netted a new program record 58 goals to go with 11 assists for 69 points. At season’s end, Asher was named a First Team All-CAA honoree for the second consecutive season after earning CAA All-Tournament honors while being named an Inside Lacrosse All-America honorable mention.
The junior from Glenelg, Maryland, was also named to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is given annually to the top player in the game. To date, Asher has tallied 140 goals in maroon and gold. Heading into her senior season, she stands tied for sixth in the nation among active scorers with Colorado’s Darby Kiernan and is three goals out of fourth place nationally.
Braschi, a biochemistry major with a minor in psychology, is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and has made the President’s List at Elon five times. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Lambda Upsilon national honor societies and received the Eugene Gooch Memorial Organic Chemistry Achievement Award.
On the court, Braschi was a second-team All-CAA selection in both singles and doubles in 2017. She posted a 15-9 record at the No. 1 singles spot and was a team-best 16-6 at No. 2 doubles with partner Olivia Lucas. Braschi also earned the 2016-17 ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award for the Carolina Region.
Braschi currently ranks third in program history with a 72.6 percent winning percentage in singles and second all-time with a 73.2 percent doubles winning percentage in dual matches. She is also ranked in the top-10 in singles wins (45) and doubles victories (41).
The conference honors one scholar-athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The winners were selected by a vote of the media relations directors at each CAA institution.
Nine of the 11 recipients earned All-CAA honors in their respective sports this season and 10 have achieved cumulative grade point averages over 3.7.