Baseball’s J.P. Gagne and Rowing’s Ashlee Warren Receive 2002-03 BIG EAST/Aeropostale Scholar-Athlete Awards
Both receive $2,000 scholarship for postgraduate work.

Feb. 25, 2003

Notre Dame, Ind. – Senior righthander J.P. Gagne and senior rowing captain Ashlee Warren have been named the 2002-03 BIG EAST/A?ropostale Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year for Notre Dame. Both will receive a $2,000 stipend, which will be applied to graduate studies.

Gagne, from Bloomington, Minn., intends to pursue postgraduate studies in law or business after his impending graduation from Notre Dame. He joins former pitcher Mike Naumann (’01) as the second Notre Dame baseball player to receive the BIG EAST postgraduate scholarship in the last three years. He combines with Virginia Tech shortstop Spencer Harris and West Virginia third baseman Tim McCabe as the only 2003 baseball players who were selected by their respective schools as the BIG EAST scholarship recipients.

Just the fourth pitcher in the last 27 seasons to serve as a captain of the Notre Dame baseball program, Gagne has delivered in a number of roles with the Irish by serving as a weekend starter for two-plus seasons before shifting to the bullpen in 2002. He headed into the 2003 season with a 4.20 career ERA, 21-10 record and six saves in 64 appearances (33 starts), with 160 strikeouts and just 62 walks in 238 innings. Gagne could join former greats Chris Michalak (’93) and Heilman (’01) as the third ND pitcher ever to post 20-plus wins and 10-plus saves (his ’02 stats included a team-best 3.14 ERA, 9-5 record, six saves, 69 Ks and 16 BB in 94.2 IP). By logging nine appearances in 2003, Gagne would rank third in games pitched in the ND record book, while he stands 62 innings shy of becoming the sixth Irish pitcher to reach 300 IP in his career.

An Academic All-America candidate who carries a 3.35 cumulative grade-point average as a finance major, Gagne’s low career walk rate (2.35 BB per 9 innings, prior to ’03) would rank ninth in the ND record book. His junior season included a three-hit shutout win over BYU (1-0), a 3-0 postseason record (with 15 Ks and one walk in 18 IP) and a pair of impressive saves in the Super Regional series at top-ranked Florida State.

A native of Gibsonburg, Ohio, Warren will attend medical school after graduating from Notre Dame this spring. She has been accepted at a number of institutions including Cincinnati and Wright State. She becomes the first rower in Notre Dame history to win the BIG EAST postgraduate scholarship and was the only rower selected by her school to receive the honor.

Warren, who only started rowing three years ago, made history in 2002 as she became the first Irish rower in history to earn All-America honors when she was named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) second team. She also was named first-team All-Central Region for the second consecutive season and helped the Irish to its first-ever NCAA Championship berth in ’02. The Irish placed 16th at the NCAA meet in the varsity eight and finished the season ranked 13th in the nation, the highest final ranking in school history. Earlier in the year, the Irish were ranked as high as ninth in the country.

Also an Academic All-America candidate, Warren has been named a CRCA National Scholar-Athlete Award winner in her career and also was the first person, along with former rower Becky Luckett, named to the US Rowing Collegiate Honor Roll. She is a two-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic team and is a part of the Notre Dame Academic Honors Program which matches student-athletes with mentors from their particular area of interest. A pre-med and anthropology major, Warren has a 3.49 grade-point average and has been named to the Dean’s List while at Notre Dame.