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CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Lady Railsplitter golfer Maria Stapleton has been named to the 2011-12 National Golf Coaches Association Division II All-American Scholar Team after completing her final season at LMU.

In order to be eligible for the NGCA All-American Scholar Team, a student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 while also competing in over 75 percent of his or her team’s matches.

This season Stapleton — a native of Baneberry, Tenn., and the granddaugher of Roy and Norma Stapleton of Middlesboro — capped a stellar career for the Lady Railsplitters, as she finished third on the team with an 82.71 stroke average. In eight events in the 2011-12 campaign, Stapleton notched one win, two top-fives and three top-10 finishes.

Her best performance of the season came at the LMU Spring Shootout where she posted a single-day round of 74 at Millstone Golf Course in Morristown, Tennessee to capture the event, defeating a field of 20 other golfers. Her victory paved the way for one of two wins on the season for the Lady Railsplitters. That score also ranked her fourth on the team for lowest round in the season.

Stapleton began the fall season with another strong performance at the NGU Fall Classic at Cherokee Valley Country Club in Tigerville, South Carolina. With rounds of 79 and 79, she finished in a tie for third at 14 over par for the event. The Lady Railsplitters would go on to win that event to open the 2011-12 season with a victory.

Maria Stapleton was a huge part of the Lady Railsplitters’ outstanding 2011-12 campaign which featured two wins and five top-five finishes, culminated with a second-place finish in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship. At that event, Stapleton posted rounds of 79-82-79 to take a tie for 15th place.

With her career coming to a close at Lincoln Memorial University, Stapleton completes her stay with 72 total round, 37 events, one win, six top-fives and an 82.71 stroke average. That scoring average places her in fifth all-time at Lincoln Memorial University. Her win-loss percentage of .634 notches her in sixth all-time at LMU. She also owns the fourth-place spot for season scoring average for her 2010-11 campaign (80.7).

Stapleton was also represented on the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was the recipient of the prestigious President’s Award at the 2012 Lincoln Memorial University Athletics Banquet.