Krebs and Willey honored with SU Scholar-Athlete Award

SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University Athletics Department is proud to announce its 2008-09 Scholar-Athlete Award winners which coincide with the NCAA National Student-Athlete Day. Senior volleyball outside hitter Stacey Krebs and senior baseball pitcher Eric Willey were selected as the female and male recipient, respectively. Krebs and Willey will be honored at the SU Honors Convocation on Friday, May 1, at 3:30 p.m. in Holloway Hall.

Krebs is a two-time All-American in volleyball where she lettered four times during her career at SU. Under the tutelage of SU coach Margie Knight, Krebs has helped to take the Sea Gull volleyball program to new heights. This past season the Sea Gulls posted a program best 36-2 record en route to a fifth Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship and a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, fifth overall. SU collected it's first-ever NCAA tournament victory as the Sea Gulls won 36 straight matches, ninth all-time in NCAA Division III volleyball history. The senior amassed a team-high 400 kills for the season and collected 328 digs on the season. The Eldersburg, Md., native became the first Sea Gull volleyball player ever to be named an All-American as she was on the second team in 2007 and followed that up with an All-American honorable mention selection in '08. Krebs has been selected the CAC Player of the Year twice ('07, '08) and was a three-time All-CAC first team performer ('06,'07,'08). In addition, she was a two-time team captain and a two-time All-Region first team ('07,'08) honoree. Krebs finishes her career as the all-time leader in program history for kills (1,734) and attempts (4,717) and fourth in blocks (313). During her four-year career the Sea Gulls compiled a record of 112-36 (75.6 winning percentage) and won two CAC titles and made two trips to the NCAA tournament. The Physical Education major has posted a 3.82 GPA and was named to the Dean's list five times and selected to the CAC All-Academic team the past four years. She was selected to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District teams twice ('07, '08) where she was a second team and third team college division selection for District 2. Krebs was honored as a Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) scholarship recipient. Recently, she was one of 29 women in Division I, II, and III to be honored with a 2008-2009 postgraduate scholarship. She is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Krebs has also worked the past two years in the Salisbury University Sports Information Office where she edits and posts Sea Gull athletic photos to www.suseagulls.com, writes press releases and serves as game day operations support.

Willey is in the midst of his fourth season on the SU baseball team under the direction of SU coach Doug Fleetwood. Willey is 19-5 all-time as a Sea Gull as he has thrown a combined 199.1 innings in his career. The Cambridge, Md., native has made 61 career appearances where he has struck out 201 batters and collected seven saves. In 2009, Willey is 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA in just over 50 innings for the 19th-ranked Sea Gulls, who were ranked No. 1 for several weeks earlier this season. Willey has fanned 52 batters, scattered 48 hits, and walked just 12. He was named to the 2009 D3Baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American preseason team. In 2008, he emerged as the ace of the staff after going 11-1 with a 2.58 ERA where he struck out 86 batters in 102 innings. For his efforts he was named to the D3baseball.com All-American second team and was a third-team All-American honoree by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). He was also honored as the Capital Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year, Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Baseball Pitcher of the Year, and a first-team selection to both the ABCA All-South Region and All-CAC teams. The Business major has a near perfect GPA and has been named to the All-CAC Academic Team and the Dean's List for the past three years. The two-time captain goes above and beyond as he is a key contributor to the community with involvement as a volunteer at Glen Avenue Elementary School and the Badges for Baseball program.

National Student-Athlete Day has been celebrated annually April 6 since 1987 as it is America's day to celebrate outstanding student-athletes who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics while having made significant contributions to the community. It is also a time to recognize those parents, teachers, coaches and school systems which make it possible for young people to find the balance between academics and athletics.

SU Scholar-Athlete Award recipients since 1992