PISCATAWAY, NJ – Rutgers senior women’s swimmer Erin McIntyre (Broomfield, CO) has been named the 2002-03 BIG EAST/Aeropostale Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced today.

McIntyre was chosen from a pool of 15 candidates which include athletes from any of the 13 BIG EAST women’s sports, becoming the first Rutgers female to win the award. She will receive a stipend of $4,000 which will be applied to graduate studies.

McIntyre is a mechanical engineering major and a member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honors Society. The All-American swimmer finished eighth in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the 2002 NCAA Championship and was a member of the Scarlet Knights' 800-yard freestyle relay team that finished 16th. McIntyre has also placed in the 500-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA event. She won the 1,650 freestyle event at the 2001 BIG EAST Championship; placed second in three events at the 2002 conference meet; and helped the 800 freestyle relay team to league titles in 2001 and '02. McIntyre holds several school records, is a three-time team MVP and is preparing for the 2003 BIG EAST Championship (Feb. 20-22).

As a Dean's List student, McIntyre was named Academic All-America by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and is enrolled in the Rutgers Undergraduate Research Fellows Program. She was named the Female Student-Athlete of the Year for Division I schools in New Jersey. McIntyre is a member of the RU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is the president of the Rutgers chapter of the Mechanical Engineering Honors Society.

A three-time “Most Valuable Swimmer” at Rutgers, McIntyre currently owns five individual school records and has been a member of two school relay records.

McIntyre and several individuals from the Rutgers women’s swimming (4-3, 4-0 BIG EAST) will host the RU Invitational this Saturday at 10 a.m. inside the Rutgers Aquatics Center.