May 27, 2009

Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham University graduate student Sarah Lang (New Bedford, Mass./Tabor Academy), junior Stephanie Narduzzo (East Amherst, N.Y./East Amherst) and sophomore Nadia Abdul ghani (Towson, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) were named National Scholar-Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) it was announced today. The award recognizes student-athletes with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher that competed in 75 percent of her team's 2009 spring races. Also, the student-athletes must be upperclassmen (sophomore, junior or senior) in terms of eligibility and their head coaches must be good standing members of the CRCA.

This is the second consecutive year in which Narduzzo has been honored by the CRCA while it is the first scholar-athlete award for Lang and Abdul Ghani.

All three rowers were members of the Fordham varsity 8 this year, a shell that won the 2008 Fall and the 2009 Spring Metropolitan Intercollegiate Rowing Association's Championship as well as placing fourth at the Jesuit Cup, fifth at the Murphy Cup and sixth at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship

More recently, the varsity 8 won the second final at the 2009 Dad Vail Championships on May 9th as the Rams placed seventh overall at the prestigious regatta. The boat also took fourth at the 2009 ECAC Metro Championships, finishing ahead of A-10 foes Massachusetts in both their heat and in the championship race on the Cooper River on May 3rd.

Lang, who is working on a degree in the Graduate School of Education after earning a degree in Communications and Media Studies last year from Fordham, also earned Academic All-Atlantic 10 honors this year as well as being named Second Team All-Atlantic 10.

Narduzzo is majoring in Business Administration while Abdul Ghani is an International Political Economy major.