Feb. 19, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Four current and former University of Notre Dame student-athletes were honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Thursday when they were named postgraduate scholarship recipients by commissioner John Swofford.
Three Fighting Irish student-athletes will receive the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award, the postgraduate scholarships awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following the completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community. A fourth Irish conferree will receive the Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award, for student-athletes who intend to pursue professional careers in their chosen sports.
Ashley Armstrong (women’s golf, ’15), Kelly Curran (track & field, ’14) and Anna Kottkamp (rowing, ’15) were selected as scholarship fund recipients, while Emma Reaney (women’s swimming, ’15) was named an honorary awardee.
Armstrong, a senior from Flossmoor, Illinois, is a two-time team captain and Capital One Academic All-America selection. As a junior, she was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team. A representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Armstrong is also a prominent participant in the women’s golf team’s community service efforts.
On the course, Armstrong ranks third in school history with a 75.12 career stroke average, with five top-five finishes and seven top-10 outings to date. She played a critical role in Notre Dame’s three straight NCAA Regional appearances (2012-14) and its 2013 BIG EAST Conference title. As a freshman, she captured the 2012 BIG EAST individual championship and has twice earned All-BIG EAST honors.
Through the fall season, Armstrong rates second on the team with a 73.92 stroke average and turned in two top-10 finishes in four tournaments, including a ninth-place finish at the Mary Possum Invitational and an eighth-place outing at the Landfall tradition while matching a career low tournament score at one-under par 215 (69-75-71).
Curran, a spring 2014 graduate, was a three-time track & field All-American and garnered numerous All-BIG EAST and All-ACC accolades throughout her career in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. As a senior, Curran earned All-ACC honors in cross country, the distance medley relay and the indoor mile, and helped the Irish to a third-place finish at the ACC Indoor Championships and second-place at the ACC Outdoor Championships. She also turned in an All-American performance in the distance medley relay as a senior.
Off the track, Curran piled up plentiful academic honors. A two-time BIG EAST Academic All Star, she was also named to the ACC All-Academic Team for both cross country and track & field as a senior. She was named to the Capital One Academic All-District V Track &Field/Cross Country first team as a junior, and was twice named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team.
As a senior, Curran served as a member of the Rosenthal Leadership Academy and the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in Science-Business, Curran began medical school at Oakland University this fall.
Kottkamp, the 2014 NCAA Elite 89 Award winner in rowing, has been a perennial competitive and academic award winner during her Notre Dame career. A regular Dean’s List honoree carrying a 4.0 grade point average in Notre Dame’s College of Science, the senior from Wenatchee, Washington, also earned 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete recognition as a junior, competing exclusively with the Notre Dame first varsity eight boat last season that raced at the NCAA Championships.
In 2013, she was named to the all-BIG EAST Conference second team, and was again tabbed as a CRCA National-Scholar Athlete that season, as well. Away from the water, Kottkamp has been involved with the Monroe Park Food Co-Op, outreach of the Catholic Worker Volunteer in the ecology lab of the Jordan Hall of Science at Notre Dame and as a volunteer working for environmental conservation in Peru, Bolivia and Honduras.
Reaney, a five-time All-American and five-time honorable mention All-American from Lawrence, Kansas, set an American record in winning the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2014 NCAA Championships. The individual title was the first for an Irish swimmer or diver on both the men’s and women’s teams in school history.
During her historic junior season, Reaney earned ACC Most Valuable Female Swimmer honors at the ACC Championships, ACC Female Swimmer of the Year accolades, ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors and first team Capital One Academic At-Large All-America recognition. In her career to date, she has earned 13 conference titles (10 BIG EAST, 3 ACC) and 17 all-conference (14 BIG EAST, 3 ACC) scrolls. She is also a two-time member of the U.S. National Team.
Reaney is a two-time Rosenthal Leadership Academy participant and College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American. She was placed on the ACC All-Academic Team and ACC Academic Honor Roll as a junior and was a BIG EAST All-Academic Team member as a sophomore. Upon graduation, Reaney intends to pursue swimming professionally.
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
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