Inquirer Academic All-Stars
Here are the overall and spring-season college athletes who excelled on the playing field and as students, as selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors:
Here are the overall and spring-season college athletes who excelled on the playing field and as students, as selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors:
Overall performers of the year
Tim VanLiew and Kate Dellinger are the 2012-13 overall male and female performers of the year.
VanLiew was a senior track and field star this past year at Rutgers-Camden, and Dellinger recently graduated from Widener after a spectacular basketball career.
VanLiew was an academic all-area selection in soccer and track and field and the performer of the year in track and field. He graduated with a 3.459 grade-point average as a psychology major with a minor in sociology.
Dellinger ended her career sixth in Widener women's basketball program history in scoring (1,255 points) and fourth in rebounds (759). She graduated with a 3.98 grade-point average as a psychology/physical therapy major.
Baseball Player of the year
La Salle senior pitcher Pat Christensen is the Explorers' all-time leader in saves with 44, a mark good for fifth all-time in NCAA Division I history. This season, he earned his second career Atlantic 10 all-Conference first-team selection as he once again led the league with 11 saves. Christensen won or saved 17 of La Salle's 24 victories this season.
Baseball team
Tommy Bergjans, Haverford, Sophomore RHP, Economics
Pat Christensen, La Salle, Senior RHP, Accounting
Joseph Crane, Chestnut Hill, Graduate SS/RHP, Education/Psychology
Casey Fox, Haverford, Sophomore 3B/RHP, Economics
Kevin Goff, Haverford, Senior RHP, Chemistry
David Jacobs, Arcadia, Junior 2B, Mathematics
Nick Kreiger, Rowan, Sophomore OF, Health/Fitness Management
Josh Martin, Gwynedd-Mercy, Senior CF, Criminal justice
Albert Rivera, Rutgers-Camden, Senior OF, Finance
Scoop Ruxin, Swarthmore, Sophomore DH, Economics/Political Science
Kyle Summers, Widener, Junior 2B, Civil Engineering
Nick Szalejko, Univ. of Sciences, Senior CF, Doctor of Pharmacy
Softball Player of the year
Senior outfielder Dana Parks was a marketing major with a 3.71 GPA at St. Joseph's. This year, she was an all-Atlantic Ten performer who hit .385 and stole a school record 26 bases. For her career, she is a .358 hitter with three consecutive errorless seasons in center field. Parks led a St. Joe's squad that finished 37-10-1 on the year and at one point won 23 of 25 games.
Softball team
Lindsey Atzert, Cabrini, Senior, Mid-Level Education
Jen DiCandilo, Haverford, Junior, Economics
Janelle Fair, Eastern, Senior, Youth Ministry
Stephanie Farrar, Gwynedd-Mercy, Junior, Elementary Education
Stephanie Labas, Rowan, Senior, Health & Physical Education
LeAnne Miller, Rowan, Senior, Health & Physical Education
Dana Parks, St. Joseph's, Senior, Marketing
Mariah Ripken, Neumann, Senior, Sports Management
Holly Schell, Immaculata, Senior, Elementary and Special Education
Men's rowing Rower of the year
Drexel's Lorenzo Albala helped the Dragons' varsity eight boat earn its first-ever gold medal at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. A three-time selection to the Academic all-Area team, Albala has been named to the Drexel dean's list nine times.
Men's rowing team
Lorenzo Albala, Drexel, Sr., Biomedical Engineering
Rob Gilroy, St. Joseph's, Jr., International Business
Vincent Granese, La Salle, Jr., Finance
John Granville, St. Joseph's, Sr., Accounting
Louis Lombardi, Penn, So., Consumer Psychology
Shawn Neal, Rutgers-Camden, Jr., Finance
Grigorios Papadourakis, Drexel, So., Civil Engineering
James Senese, Penn, Sr., Mathematics
James Shovlin, Penn, Sr., Accounting and Finance
Women's rowing Rower of the year
St. Joseph's University graduate student Brittany Roth, a member of the Hawks' varsity eight for the last two years, was selected to the Atlantic 10 all-Conference first team and to the A-10 all-Academic team this season. She has been a member of both the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the SJU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for several semesters.
Women's rowing team
Emma Brown, La Salle, Graduate, Education
Kellen Burke, La Salle, Senior, Health Sciences
Mary Costello, Philadelphia Univ., Junior, Health Sciences
Colleen Delaney, Drexel, Junior, Elementary Education
Casey Foedisch, Rutgers-Camden, Junior, Marketing
Cassi Henderson, Penn, Senior, Bioengineering
Victoria King, Drexel, Sophomore, Psychology
Alyssa Leahy, Drexel, Junior, Anthropology
Katie Raynor, Penn, Senior, Anthropology
Brittany Roth, St. Joseph's, Graduate, Reading Specialist
Men's golf Golfer of the year
Villanova's Michael Kania was named Villanova's male scholar-athlete of the year and averaged 71.2 strokes per round during his senior year. He won a pair of tournaments (Lehigh and Pinehurst Intercollegiate) and posted four top-five finishes. Academically, Kania compiled a 3.34 cumulative grade point average as a communications major.
Men's golf team
Robert Bass, Cabrini, Jr., Criminology
P.J. Fielding, Penn, Sr., Political Science
Quentin Griffith IV, Rutgers-Camden, Sr., Finance
Mike Johnson, La Salle, Jr., Accounting
Michael Kania, Villanova, Sr., Communications
Men's track and field Performer of the year
Rutgers Camden's Tim VanLiew is a two-time NCAA national champion in the javelin. He posted a Division III record in winning the 2013 title. VanLiew was the 2013 ECAC and NJAC champion in the javelin. This marks the third time in as many years that VanLiew has been named to the academic all-area men's track and field team.
Men's track and field team
Avi Bregman, Haverford, Jr., Chemistry
Tyler Gallen, St. Joseph's, So., Business
Chris Garrity, Widener, So., Finance
Peter Kissin, Haverford, Sr., Physics
Logan Mohn, St. Joseph's, So., Finance
Taylor Purdue, Rowan, Sr., Mechanical Engineering
Tyler Rooke, Gwynedd-Mercy, Sr., History/Secondary Education
Christopher Stadler, Haverford, Jr., Sociology
Tim VanLiew, Rutgers-Camden, Sr., Psychology
Tyler Williams, Widener, So, Mechanical Engineering
Women's track and field Performer of the year
Swarthmore's Rebecca Hammond, a senior biology and chemistry double major, earned all-American honors with her eighth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Division III outdoor championships in the 1,500-meter run by posting a time of 4 minutes, 28.09 seconds, a school record.
Women's track and field
Heather Bong, Penn, So., Nursing
Rebecca Hammond, Swarthmore, Sr., Biology/Chemistry
Erin James, St. Joseph's, Jr., Interdisciplinary Health Services
Kristina Kronauer, Bryn Mawr, Sr., Russian
Alexis Maylor, Delaware Valley, Jr., Large Animal Science
Analee Rodriguez, Gwynedd-Mercy, So., Communications
Stephanie Schappert, Villanova, So., Undeclared Business
Melirah Searcy, Rowan, So., Psychology
Erica Szpynda, Widener, Jr., Economics/Accounting
Alexandra Wasik, Villanova, So., Undeclared
Men's tennis Player of the year
For the second year in a row, Haverford College senior Kevin Caulfield has been named the men's tennis player of the year. Caulfield played at the No. 1 flight in both singles and doubles. He finished the year with a 15-5 singles record that included a 6-2 mark in Centennial Conference play. In doubles action, Caulfield posted a 13-5 overall record with an undefeated 7-0 mark against conference opponents.
Men's tennis team
Kevin Caulfield, Haverford, Sr., Psychology
T.J. Klinger, Immaculata, Sr., Accounting
Kristian Marquart, Temple, So., International Business
Badr Ouabdelmoumen, Drexel, So., Business & Engineering
Kacper Rams, Temple, Sr., Finance
Alex Veronis, St. Joseph's, Sr., Business
Women's tennis Player of the year
Gwynedd Mercy College junior Rachel Fein was named the Colonial States Athletic Conference player of the year for the third straight year. She compiled a 19-0 record at No. 1 in singles (10-0 in conference), winning 15 of the matches by straight sets, and seven by a 6-0, 6-0 score.
Women's tennis team
Kelly Dennis, Chestnut Hill, Jr., Accounting
Sol Eskkenazi, Penn, So., French & Int. Relations
Rachel Fein, Gwynedd Mercy, Jr., Education
Caitlin Gallagher, Haverford, So., East Asian Studies
Maria Parapouras, Chestnut Hill, Sr., Psychology
Nastia Shcherbakova, Chestnut Hill, Sr., Computer & Info. Tech.
Men's lacrosse Player of the year
Villanova junior defenseman John LoCascio was the 2013 Big East defensive player of the year and a unanimous selection to the all-Big East first-team. The defenseman averaged 3.97 caused turnovers per game to lead NCAA Division I in the category and will enter his senior season ranked second all-time at Villanova with 87 career caused turnovers.
Men's lacrosse team
Aaron Benz, Eastern, Sr., Mathematics
Isaac Bock, Penn, So., History
Charlie Bytheway, Widener, Sr., Business
Scott Chanelli, Haverford, Sr., Economics
Robert Church, Drexel, Sr., Sport Management
Corey Elmer, Cabrini, Jr., Exercise Science & Health Promotion
Brian Feeney, Penn, Jr., History
John LoCascio, Villanova, Jr., Finance
Jonathan Molloy, Swarthmore, Jr., Architectural Studies
Anthony Santomo, Penn, Sr., Communication
Steve Selverian, Swarthmore, Sr., Neuroscience
Bobby Thorp, Cabrini, Sr., Marketing
Women's lacrosse Player of the year
Drexel senior Kelli Joran finished her career ranked 10th on Drexel's all-time leaderboard with 101 career goals, becoming the 11th player in Drexel history to reach 100 career goals. She also finished 12th all-time with 122 career points. This season, Joran led Drexel with 37 goals and 29 ground balls and was second on the squad with 46 points and 53 draw controls.
Women's lacrosse team
Caitlyn Brostrand, La Salle, So., Nursing
Katie Cook, Immaculata, Jr., Nursing
Meghan Fallon, Arcadia, Sr., Psychology
Kelli Joran, Drexel, Sr., Elem. Ed.
Meg Markham, Penn, So., Undeclared
Meghan McDevitt, St. Joseph's, Gr. Reading Specialist
Shannon O'Brien, Rowan, Sr., Elem. Ed.
Stephany Parcell, Temple, Sr., Kinesiology
Annalise Penikis, Swarthmore, Sr., Biology
Melanie Sarcinello, La Salle, Sr., Nursing
Grace Stockbower, Haverford, Sr., Psychology
Melissa Styer, Philadelphia, Jr., Architecture