2012 Inquirer Academic All-Stars
Here are the winter season players who excelled as students and athletes, as selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association:
Here are the winter season players who excelled as students and athletes, as selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association:
Women's at-large Performer of the year
Temple senior fencer Kamali Thompson, a four-time NCAA championships qualifier, was a second-team all-America selection after finishing sixth at the NCAA championships. At the championships, she defeated three of the top four overall finishers, including 2008 Olympic individual bronze medalist Rebecca Ward of Duke. Thompson placed ninth in sabre at the 2012 NCAA regionals, was named 2012 National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association first-team in sabre, and won the sabre title for the fourth consecutive year at the NIWFA championships. She is a biology major and holds a 3.42 cumulative grade-point average.
Women's at-large team
Amrit Bhinder, Penn, jr., fencing, economics
Alyssa Lomuscio, Temple, sr., fencing, film and media
Taylor Billington, Cheyney, so., bowling, education
Danielle Mines, Cheyney, so., bowling, political science
Chantal Montrose, Temple, so. fencing, art
Janae Silver, Cheyney, so., bowling, fashion merch and mgmt
Laura Paragano, Penn, sr., fencing, philosophy and economics
Kamali Thompson, Temple, sr., fencing, biology
Pia Trikha, Penn, sr., squash, psychology
Mikayla Varadi, Temple, jr., fencing, nursing
Kiran Vasudevan, Drexel, so., squash, chemical engineering
Men's at-large Performer of the year
University of the Sciences junior Brad Driscoll, a five-time all-MAC performer in mixed rifle, was the bronze medalist at the 2011 U.S. Junior Olympic championships and went on to set career highs in both the smallbore (580 points) and air rifle (581) - both out of a possible 600 - this season. A three-time College Rifle Coaches Association all-academic team member, Driscoll is also a three-time academic all-MAC selection while making the Dean's List at USP four times.
Men's at-large team
Adam Al-Rokh, Temple, sr., gymnastics, exercise science
Zak Andrews, Delaware Valley, sr., wrestling, environmental science
Alex Blank, Ursinus, sr., wrestling, exercise and sports science/psychology
Andrew Bostick, Haverford, sr., fencing, English/economics
Todd Busler, Penn, sr., sprint football, urban real estate and development
Brad Driscoll, U. of Sciences, jr., mixed rifle, pharmacy
Chris Mooney, Temple, sr., gymnastics, kinesiology
Cory Park, Neumann, sr., ice hockey, sport management
Justin Singh, Drexel, so., squash, business administration
Erich Smith, Penn, sr., wrestling, chemistry
Alex Spiliotes, Haverford, sr., squash, English
Men's swimming, diving Performer of the year
University of Pennsylvania senior Brendan McHugh is the only three-time member of the academic all-area team on this year's squad and is the first repeat winner for men's swimming since Bryan Carlisle of Rowan. McHugh was honorable mention all-American in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes at the NCAA championships, placing 14th in the country in each event. He shattered school records in both events multiple times this season, most recently at the NCAA championships by going 53.03 seconds over 100 yards and 1 minute, 55.82 seconds over 200 yards. McHugh also competed in the 200 individual medley at nationals, finishing 39th. He also set a Penn mark in the 200 freestyle in 1:37.31, bringing his total of school records to six. McHugh will compete at the U.S. Olympic trials this summer in Omaha and is a student-athlete representative on the Middle Atlantic swimming committee.
Men's swimming, diving
Daniel Duncan, Swarthmore, jr., linguistics
Lance Liu, Swarthmore, sr., economics
Brendan McHugh, Penn, sr., classical stud. and science/tech. and sociology
Nate Parsley, Rowan, sr., health and exercise science
Eric Patenaude, La Salle, sr., political science
Michael Roth, Widener, jr., engineering,
Chris Smith, Ursinus, sr., psychology
Blase Szyszko, La Salle, jr., information science and business tech.
Women's swimming, diving Performer of the year
Drexel junior Lauren Faykes is the first swimmer in Drexel history to compete in the U.S. national championships and this season broke school records in both the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle. She established the school mark of 1:51.18 in the 200 free at the 2012 CAA championships and placed seventh in the finals of the event. At the conference meet, she swam a leg on the 400 medley-relay squad that set a school record with a time of 3:50.41. Earlier in the season, Faykes broke the school mark in the 100 fly with a time of 56.88 at the Terrier Invitational. She was named the CAA scholar-athlete for women's swimming this season and has previously received the CAA commissioner's award twice. She has also been named to the Drexel Dean's List seven times.
Women's swimming, diving
Hayley Edwards, Villanova, jr., sociology
Laura Farrar, Widener, so., exploratory studies
Lauren Faykes, Drexel, jr., design and merchandising
Kelsey Lake, Widener, jr., psychology
Erin Malone, Villanova, jr., communications
Laurie McLaughlin, La Salle, sr., nursing
Maggie Regan, Swarthmore, so., mathematics and physics
Breghann Smith, Cabrini, so., psychology
Roxy Tammadge, Villanova, jr., psychology
Rebecca Teng, Swarthmore, so., undeclared
Men's basketball Player of the year
Jon Ward of Ursinus, a junior forward, has a 3.82 grade-point average and is majoring in physics. He was a first-team all-Centennial Conference selection and named to the league's all-academic team. Ward scored his 1,000th career point this season and averaged 16.5 points per game. He also shot better than 60 percent from the floor and was named a 2012 Capital One first-team academic all-district selection. This summer, Ward will be interning at a nuclear reactor in France.
Men's basketball team
T.J. DiLeo, Temple, jr., marketing
Ian Goldberg, Haverford, sr., economics
Khiry Hankins, Holy Family, jr., marketing-management
Colin McCarthy, Arcadia, sr., elementary/special education
Jon Ward, Ursinus, jr., physics
Women's basketball Player of the year
Widener University junior Kate Dellinger, the Commonwealth Conference player of the year, led the Pride to an 18-9 record and a spot in the Commonwealth Conference championship game. The junior guard led Widener in scoring with a 13.6 point-per-game average. A 2012 Capital One academic all-district first-team selection, Dellinger was recently named to the Capital One academic all-America team as a second-team selection. She is majoring in physical therapy at Widener.
Women's basketball team
Elsebeth Birman, Univ. of the Sciences, jr., exercise science and wellness management
Kristen Blye, Philadelphia University, jr., finance and accounting
Kelly Brady, Holy Family, jr., special elementary education
Kate Dellinger, Widener, jr., physical therapy
Leah Kuczynski, Immaculata, jr., pre-physical therapy
Laura Sweeney, Villanova, jr., human services