CAMDEN, N.J. (June 15, 2015) – Three members of the Rutgers University-Camden crew programs have earned berths on the
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Rowing Teams.
Senior
Olivia Rowland (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) was selected to the 2016
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Women's Rowing Team, while juniors
Shane Murphy (Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI) and
Phil Pilat (Woodbury, NJ/Cherry Hill East) were tabbed for the 2016
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Rowing Team.
In order to be eligible for the Academic All-Area squad, an athlete must be in their second year or more at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher. The team is compiled through votes by the sports information offices of 30 area institutions around the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Rowland, Murphy and Pilat become the first Scarlet Raptors to earn recognition on the
Inquirer's Academic All-Area Rowing Teams since both
Casey Foedisch and Shawn Neal were selected to the women's and men's teams, respectively, for the 2012-13 scholastic year. Overall, 10 Raptor rowers have earned
Inquirer Academic All-Area honors since the newspaper started selecting the elite teams during the 2005 fall semester.
Rowland, meanwhile, earns a unique double-double by being selected to her second
Inquirer squad in a different sport. She was a member of the newspaper's Academic All-Area Volleyball Team during the 2014 fall semester.
The rowing trio gives Rutgers-Camden five Academic All-Area selections so far this spring after
Jason Lin (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) and
Amanda Hickman (Millville, NJ/Millville) were named to the Academic All-Area Tennis Teams earlier this week. Hickman was selected as the Performer of the Year on the
Inquirer's Academic All-Area Women's Tennis Team.
Over the years, Rutgers-Camden student-athletes have now earned 73 berths on
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area teams, with 12 of them capturing Performer of the Year honors for their sport.
Rowland, one of the top two-sport athletes in Rutgers-Camden history, compiled a 3.869 GPA as a Biology major with a Spanish minor. She was a four-year letterwinner on both the rowing and volleyball teams and captured Most Valuable Player honors with both programs as a junior and a senior.
A two-time Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC) women's pair champion, she advanced to the Varsity Pair finals at the Dad Vail Regatta this spring, finishing fifth. She is a two-time All-MARC Varsity selection who also earned MARC Novice Team recognition as a freshman.
One of the school's all-time greats in volleyball, she was a three-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) player and team captain, who set the program career marks for matches (121), sets (441) and blocks (388). She also finished second in career kills (879) and ranks among Rutgers-Camden's single-season and single-match leaders in numerous categories.
This spring, Rowland was named to the NJAC Academic First Team, after earning NJAC Academic Second Team recognition as a junior. She also is a two-time MARC Academic honoree and was a member of Rutgers-Camden's inaugural Athletic Director's Honor Roll during the 2015 fall semester.
Both Pilat and Murphy joined Rowland as members of Rutgers-Camden's first Athletic Director's Honor Roll last fall.
Pilat, a three-year letterman with the Rutgers-Camden crew program, has compiled a 3.282 GPA as a Finance major with a Mathematics minor. He is a two-time team MVP and also has earned All-MARC Varsity honors the past two years. As a freshman, he was named to the All-MARC Novice Team.
Pilat captured the MARC championship during the 2015 season in the Men's Varsity Pair.
Another three-year Scarlet Raptor rowing letterman, Murphy carries a 3.257 GPA as Nursing major.
During his sophomore year in 2014-15, Murphy was named the rowing team's Most Dedicated Rower and also teamed with Pilat to capture the MARC Men's Varsity Pair title.
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Women's Rowing Team release
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Rowing Team release
