May 31, 2007
Philadelphia, Pa. - Fordham University senior midfielder/forward Leah Jerome (Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) was named a recipient of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Sporting Award it was announced today. She joins Jane Daniels of Charlotte and George Washington's Raman Luthra as the 2007 winners, as voted by the Conference's senior women administrators.
The sporting award is presented annually to a male and female student-athlete who exemplifies good sportsmanship. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a member of an intercollegiate athletics team in a sport sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference; be in good academic standing; be active within the campus community; embody the highest standards of leadership integrity, and sporting conduct; be enthusiastic about the sport in which they compete; and have noteworthy act(s) of sporting conduct.
Jerome is the third Fordham student-athlete to be honored with the Atlantic 10 Sporting Award in the four years it has been in existence. She joins former Rams Mark Porcaro, who won the inaugural award in 2004, and Riad Mehovic, who was honored by the conference in 2005.
The award wraps up an impressive season for Jerome, who was also named Third Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® in voting among the Sports Information Directors. She became the first Fordham University women's soccer student-athlete to earn Academic All-American® honors.
Jerome, a two-year team captain and three-year starter who started all 19 games for the Rams this year, set career highs with eleven goals and five assists for 27 points in 2006, ranking second on the team in all three categories. She also ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 conference in goals and fifth in goals/game, points and points/game.
For her exploits, Jerome was named First Team All-Conference in 2006, becoming the fourth Fordham women's soccer player to garner First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors, as well as the team MVP.
Over her career, Jerome scored 22 goals and added 11 assists for 55 career points in 77 career games, breaking Beth Kitson's (1999-2002) school mark for most games played in a career (75). She graduates in third place on the Fordham all-time career scoring list while ranking fourth on the all-time goals list and tying for fifth in career assists.
Away from the field, Jerome was involved in tutoring middle school students in the Bronx and she has worked with the Global Outreach-Navajo program. She helped lead the Fordham initiative this year for the Global Aids Campaign, raising funds through a 3-on-3 basketball tournament held at Fordham, and has been a devoted volunteer with a number of other organizations.
Academically, the American Studies major recorded one of the highest GPAs among Fordham University student-athletes. She has been named Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team the past three seasons.
At the 2007 Block F Awards Dinner, Jerome received the Kiwanis Community Service Award for her commitment to community service endeavors as well as the Terence J. O'Donnell Memorial Award.
The O'Donnell Memorial Award is presented to the Fordham athlete who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, loyalty, dedication and self-discipline. The award is in memory of Terry O'Donnell, a 1955 graduate who died in a military plane crash shortly after graduation.
The Rams finished the year with a 14-7 overall record, 6-3 in the Atlantic 10. Fordham, which set a team record with the 14 overall wins, qualified for the A-10 Championship for the first time since 2003. Entering the championship as the fifth seed, the Rams defeated La Salle, 3-1, in the first round and then knocked off top-seeded Charlotte, 2-1, before falling to Saint Louis in the championship game.
