May 26, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University lacrosse player Courtney Koester (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team in the extremely competitive women's at-large category. The team is voted on and presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
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Koester was named to the All-District Team in District V, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. The at-large category combines all the NCAA-sponsored women's sports that do not have their own Academic All-America program; the sports that do have such programs are volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball and cross country/track & field.
Koester is now eligible for Academic All-America honors; the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program is considered the most prestigious academic honor a collegiate student-athlete can receive. Last year, Koester was a third-team Academic All-America after winning All-Distrcit honors. This year's ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team (women's at-large) will be announced Thursday, June 16.
Koester is the seventh Wildcat athlete to be honored at the national level this year--the others were Jeff Backes and Luis Castillo in football, Jaro Pylypczak in men's soccer, Shannon Schneeman in women's soccer, and Garland Cooper and Erin Mobley in softball.
Koester was a catalyst for the Wildcat lacrosse team this season, helping the fourth-year program stun the lacrosse-playing nation by going 21-0 and winning the NCAA championship. She was recently named first-team All-America by the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse, and was also Inside Lacrosse's National Defensive Midfielder of the Year. In addition, Koester was a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy which is given to the nation's top lacrosse player.
Koester, a three-time first-team All-American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) selection, led the 'Cats and finished eighth nationally in draw controls (73). She was also among the team leaders with 44 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers. Koester was one of the anchors of a defensive unit -- along with twin sister Ashley Koester, Lindsay Finocchiaro, Emily Lovett, and goalkeeper Ashley Gersuk -- that led the nation in goals-against average (5.90). All this from a woman who had never played lacrosse before being recruited to try out in the fall of 2001.
Koester is a computer engineering major. Among her academic awards at Northwestern, she is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten and ALC Academic Honor Roll honoree, and last year she earned a spot on the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. This year, Koester is a nominee for the IWLCA's prestigious Scholar Athlete Award.