Philadelphia, Pa. - Junior Debbie Bateman of Saint Joseph's has been named the Student-Athlete of the Year in women's rowing in voting conducted among the Conference's sports information directors. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and be an important part of the team.

Bateman was a member of the Varsity 8 crew that placed second at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship on Apr. 19, the first-ever medal in the Varsity 8 for the Hawks, who finished third overall in the team standings. Named to the All-Conference second-team, the Longport, N.J., native led Saint Joseph's to an unprecedented first-place finish at the Kelly Cup on Apr. 26. A two-time Academic All-Conference selection and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree in 2007, Bateman maintains a 3.93 grade point average as a marketing major.

Bateman is joined on the Academic All-Conference women's rowing team by Airlina Burrill, Sarah Marsan and Amy Rayla of Massachusetts; Dayton's Lydia Caldwell and Jeanna Heink; Karin Fulkerson of Rhode Island; Fordham's Caroline Gibbons; Anne Mikolajewski of Temple; and Duquesne's Elizabeth Mills.

Name	School	Cl.	Hometown	Major
Debbie Bateman	Saint Joseph's	Jr.	Longport, N.J./Mainland Regional	Marketing
Airlina Burrill	Massachusetts	Jr.	Eastham, Mass./Nauset Regional	Kinesiology
Lydia Caldwell	Dayton	So.	St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx Hall	Biology
Karin Fulkerson	Rhode Island	Jr.	Amelia, Ohio/Glen Este	Ocean Engineering
Caroline Gibbons	Fordham	Sr.	College Point, N.Y./Dominican Academy	American Studies
Jeanna Heink	Dayton	Jr.	Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic	Chemical Engineering
Sarah Marsan	Massachusetts	Sr.	Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills	Marketing
Anne Mikolajewski	Temple	Sr.	Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert	Political Science/English
Elizabeth Mills	Duquesne	Sr.	St. Albans, W.Va./St. Albans	Pharmacy
Amy Rayla	Massachusetts	Sr.	Still River, Mass./The Broomfield School	Biology

Student-Athlete of the Year: Debbie Bateman, Saint Joseph's