Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012
Abi Cottam ’13 of women’s soccer was named an ECAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a Senior CLASS award candidate in September.
The accolades have been rolling in this fall for Rider soccer player Abi Cottam ’13. A native of Leominster, England, Cottam was named a 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and became one of 30 women soccer players in the nation selected as a candidate for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award.
A Psychology major with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average, Cottam was a first-team Capital One Academic All-America in 2011 as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She also earned a spot on both the 2010 and 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Teams. Cottam’s 14 goals last season ranked 14th in the nation, while her 11 assists ranked eighth and her point total of 39 was good for sixth.
Earlier this month, Cottam shared ECAC Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors with fellow Briton Liam Paddock from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County. One male and one female student-athlete from each NCAA Division are selected annually for the scholar-athlete awards based on extraordinary achievements in academics, athletics, and community service.
The Senior CLASS Award, for student-athletes who excel both on and off the field, is presented to a senior with notable achievements in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The 30 candidates named on September 18 will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season.
Named to the 2012 Preseason All-MAAC Soccer Team by the conference coaches, Cottam earned first-team All-MAAC and second-team All-Region honors last year after leading the conference in goals, assists and points.
After missing all of preseason and most of the 2009 year with an eye injury, Cottam has compiled 22 goals and a Rider-record 22 assists for 66 points in 52 career games to date. This season, Cottam has led the Broncs to a best-ever 5-1-1 start to the season.