Nov. 10, 2011
Center Valley, Pa. - A total of 23 Patriot League student-athletes have been named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team in the sports of football, men and women's soccer and volleyball, it was announced this week by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA). Seventeen of those 23 garnered First-Team All-District accolades and will be on the national Academic All-America ballot later this fall.
Seven student-athletes were named in each of football and men and women's soccer, while two were recognized in the sport of volleyball. Patriot League student-athletes were honored in either District 1, which includes the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York, or District 2, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The Academic All-District picks in football all came on the first team, with a trio in District 1 and four in District 2. Holy Cross had a pair of the selections in District 1, with senior offensve lineman Mike McCabe honored by CoSIDA for the third year in a row. McCabe carries a 3.62 grade-point average as a Classics major and is a key cog in a Holy Cross offense that has averaged over 20 points and 385 yards per contest. Sophomore placekicker John Macomber has emerged as one of the top kickers in the Patriot League by making 11-of-13 field goals, and also carries a 3.60 GPA as a History major.
Fordham junior defensive back Brendan Melanophy also made the District 1 list. Melanophy maintains a 3.67 GPA as a Business Administration major and has 43 tackles for the season.
A pair of student-athletes from No. 6 Lehigh are among the four selections from the Patriot League on the District 2 list for football. Both are key cogs for the Mountain Hawks' top-ranked offense, as junior wide receiver Ryan Spadola is among the national leaders with 71 receptions for 1,215 yards and 10 touchdowns and running back Zach Barket has 646 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Spadola holds a 3.33 GPA as a Finance major at Lehigh while Barket, also a junior, maintains a 3.61 GPA while majoring in accounting.
Lafayette senior defensive back Brandon Ellis holds a 3.49 cumulative GPA as an Economics and Business major and has also recorded 55 tackles and 10 pass breakups on the season, while Bucknell senior linebacker Tim Bolte has 55 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss and boasts a 3.93 GPA as an East Asian Studies and Political Science major.
Both Ellis and Bolte were named to the Academic All-District Team for the second straight season to join McCabe as repeat selections. All three were selected to the inaugural Football Academic All-Patriot League Team last fall.
All seven of the honorees in men's soccer were named to the first team in District 2, so they will all be included on the national Academic All-America ballot. Bucknell led with three honorees, led by seniors Tommy Caso and Ryan Sappington and joined by junior Brendan Burgdorf. Caso, a senior goalkeeper from Phoenix, Md., owns a 3.82 GPA studying mechanical engineering, while Sappington owns a 3.87 majoring in psychology and philosophy. Burgdorf, a second-team All-League selection this week, owns a 3.41 GPA majoring in physics.
All three were contributors for the Bison this season. Burgdorf was Bucknell's third-highest leading scorer with 10 points and he sits tied for first in the League with six assists. Sappington collected one goal and one assist for three points in 15 games this season, while Caso posted a 7-5-1 record with five shutouts and a 1.13 goals-against average.
All three collected Academic All-Patriot League honors earlier this week.
Navy placed a pair on the first team in District 2 in senior Sam Miller and junior Eric Wootten. Miller garnered Academic All-League honors for the second straight year earlier this week and makes a repeat showing on the Academic All-District team. He boasts a 3.95 GPA at the Naval Academy in mechanical engineering, while Wootten is an honors systems engineering major with a 3.81 GPA. Both midfielders, Wootten has one goal in 14 games this season, while Miller has one assist in 18 outings. Miller and Wootten will be playing for fourth-seeded Navy in this weekend's Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament.
Senior Michael Roberts of American was named to the first team with a 3.85 GPA in physics. He was named Academic All-League earlier this week. Roberts and the Eagles are hosting the Patriot League Tournament that gets underway Friday at Reeves Field in Washington, D.C.
Lafayette forward Blake Fink rounds out the list of seven Patriot Leaguers on the men's soccer Academic All-District list. A junior, Fink owns a 3.78 GPA studying government and law. He finished second on the team with four goals and nine points.
Holy Cross senior Micaela Collins was named first-team Academic All-District in District 1. She owns a 3.74 GPA as an economics and accounting major. A defender, Collins posted one assist in 12 matches this fall for the Crusaders. She was named Academic All-League last week.
Army sophomore Molly McGuigan was honored with a second-team selection in District 2 after garnering an Academic All-League honor last week. The Boulder, Colo., native was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and helped guide the Black Knights to their second League title in four years last weekend. She is an economics major with a 3.56 GPA and will be playing with her teammates Friday when Army visits No. 4 seed Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.
Five Patriot Leaguers were named to the second team in District 2, with Patriot League Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jenna Stasiewicz of American on the list. A week after being named to the League's most prestigious award, she added Academic All-District honors with a 3.91 GPA majoring in public communication.
Bucknell led with three selections on the second team in District 2. Senior Tara Cort landed on the squad with a 3.95 GPA studying economics, while fellow senior Megan DeGennaro boasts a 3.70 GPA majoring in economics and international relations. Junior Meghan Fitzpatrick was named to the team with a 3.98 GPA studying management. Both Cort and DeGennaro were Academic All-League selections last week. DeGennaro was Bucknell's points leader in 2011 with six (1g, 4a), while Cort pitched in a pair of assists from the midfield in 16 matches.
Navy junior Brittany Fruin was named Academic All-League one week ago and added Academic All-District honors as well with a spot on the second team in District 2. The junior honors oceanography major has a 3.46 GPA at the Naval Academy. She finished fifth on the Mids with nine points (3g, 3a) and helped guide them to the title match of the Patriot League Tournament last week at Colgate.
Two from the Patriot League captured Academic All-District honors in volleyball, with both student-athletes making the first team in District 2. American senior Rebecca Heath, who owns a 3.84 GPA studying anthropology, was named alongside Bucknell senior Anne Ellenberger. Ellenberger, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz., has a 3.62 GPA studying chemical engineering. Heath sits fourth on her team hitting .265 this season and is averaging 2.49 kills and 2.19 digs per set, helping the Eagles qualify for their 11th consecutive Patriot League Tournament. Ellenberger sits second in the League with 86 total blocks and second with 1.13 blocks per set entering the final weekend of the regular season.
To be eligible for the ballot, student-athletes must have a 3.30 cumulative GPA, must have completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility and must have competed in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed on the nomination form.
2011 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District
Football
Districk 1: Mike McCabe, Holy Cross (Sr.); John Macomber, Holy Cross (So.); Brednan Melanophy, Fordham (Jr.)
District 2: Ryan Spadola, Lehigh (Jr.); Zach Barket, Lehigh (Jr.); Brandon Ellis, Lafayette (Sr.); Tim Bolte, Bucknell (Sr.)
Note: All football selections are on the first team
Men's Soccer
District 2: Tommy Caso, Bucknell, Sr.; Michael Roberts, American, Sr.; Sam Miller, Navy, Sr.; Ryan Sappington, Bucknell, Sr.; Eric Wootten, Navy, Jr.; Brendan Burgdorf, Bucknell, Jr.; Blake Fink, Lafayette, Jr.
Note: All men's soccer selections are on the first team
Women's Soccer
District 1
First Team: Micaela Collins, Holy Cross, Sr.; Second Team: Molly McGuigan, Army, So.
District 2
Second Team: Meghan Fitzpatrick, Bucknell, Jr.; Jenna Stasiewicz, American, Sr.; Tara Cort, Bucknell, Sr.; Megan DeGennaro, Bucknell, Sr.; Brittany Fruin, Navy, Jr.
Volleyball
District 2
First Team: Anne Ellenberger, Bucknell, Sr.; Rebecca Heath, American, Sr.