Inquirer 2012 Academic All-Stars

Here are the overall and spring-season players who excelled as students and athletes, as selected by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association.

Eastern senior Maria Horning is the women's overall performer of the year for the second consecutive year after earning volleyball player-of-the-year honors the last three years. She ended her career as a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III all-American, including first-team honors in 2010 and 2011, and also was a four-time Freedom Conference player of the year. This past season, Horning led Eastern to a 36-3 overall record, and the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division III championship semifinal round for the first time in program history. During her four-year career, Eastern went 133-15 and won four straight Freedom Conference titles, going 29-0 in league play. Horning graduated from Eastern with a 3.99 grade point average, majoring in economic development and minoring in both Spanish and accounting. Horning was a 2010 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic all-American and a 2011 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic all-District honoree.

West Chester senior Joe Wendle was a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award that is given to the top NCAA Division II baseball player, and the second baseman was a major reason West Chester won the NCAA Division II championship, earning all-tournament honors. He was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division player of the year and ECAC Division II player of the year after winning the conference's triple crown. He also was a first-team all-American selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association, the National College Baseball Writers Association, and Daktronics. Wendle graduated from West Chester with a degree in pre-physical therapy and finished with a 3.59 grade point average. Wendle was a first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic all-American, an eight-time WCU AD academic honor roll member and a three-time PSAC Academic Honor Roll and D2ADA Academic Honor Roll recipient. In June, Wendle was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball entry draft.

Baseball team

Mike Bozzi, Haverford, sr., RHP, chemistry

Fred Breidenbach, West Chester, jr., righthanded pitcher, exercise science

Pat Christensen, La Salle, sr., righthanded pitcher, business administration

Kyle Crawford, Swarthmore, sr., righthanded pitcher, political science

Jesse Daywalt, Chestnut Hill, sr., second base, political science

Matt Hardy, Immaculata, jr., first base, exercise science

Nick Kuklane, U. of the Sciences, sr., righthanded pitcher, pharmacy

C.J. Mooney, Rutgers-Camden, sr., first base, sociology

Brendan Norton, La Salle, sr., outfield, accounting

Albert Rivera, Rutgers-Camden, jr., outfield, finance

Joe Wendle, West Chester, sr., second base, pre-physical therapy

Brandon Winkler, Rowan, sr., second base, accounting

Rowan catcher Nicolina Veneziano led the Profs with 40 RBIs and 39 runs scored, and she again was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) East all-Region performer. Majoring in health and exercise science, she has a 3.757 GPA and is a Rowan Scholar-Athlete. The senior captain helped her squad win the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship and No. 14 final ranking in the NFCA Division III poll. Veneziano also repeated as a Capital One/ CoSIDA Academic all-American.

Softball team

Lindsey Atzert, Cabrini, jr., mid-level education

Paige Collings, Drexel, sr., biological sciences

Janelle Fair, Eastern, jr., youth ministries

Meagan Fitzgerald, Immaculata, so., biology

Jamie Minix, Rowan, sr., health and exercise sciences

Dana Parks, St. Joseph's, jr., marketing

Mariah Ripkin, Neumann, jr., sport management

Holly Schell, Immaculata, jr., elementary and special education

Samantha Schoell, Temple, sr., mechanical engineering

Nicolina Veneziano, Rowan, sr., health and exercise

Cabrini senior defenseman John McSorley earned his fourth Colonial States Athletic Conference first-team honor and his third all-American award after the 2012 campaign and was selected for the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association North/South Senior College All-Star Game. The defenseman tops Cabrini's all-time list with 146 caused turnovers, and ranks second with 196 ground balls while anchoring the nation's No. 1 defense. As captain, he led the Blue and White to a 17-3 mark, tying the best record in school history. Off the field, McSorley finished his career as a three-time Academic all-Area member. The Ridley Park resident compiled a 3.53 cumulative grade point average as an education major.

Men's lacrosse team

Aaron Benz, Eastern, jr., mathematics

Charlie Bytheway, Widener, jr., business

Robert Church, Drexel, jr., sport management

Dillon Hamill, Haverford, sr., economics

Brian Hill, Cabrini, sr., business administration

Max Hubbard, Swarthmore, sr., economics/biology

John LoCascio, Villanova, so., business

Ryan McGee, St. Joseph's, so., business

John McSorley, Cabrini, sr., education

Jonathan Molloy, Swarthmore, so., architectural studies

Zach Richter, Gwynedd Mercy, sr., psychology

Bobby Thorp, Cabrini, jr., marketing

Penn senior Emily Leitnerhad a 3.63 grade point average as a cinema studies major and history minor at Penn. She was a unanimous selection for first-team all-Ivy League goalkeeper this past season and was named to the IWLCA all-Region first team. Leitner posted a 9.44 goals-against average and led the Ivy League in ground balls with 49. She was an IWLCA second-team all-region selection in 2011 as well as an Academic all-Ivy and Inquirer all-Area honoree.

Women's lacrosse team

Shannon Carabba, Gwynedd-Mercy, sr., nursing

Megan Chacosky, Immaculata, jr., nutrition/dietetics

Josie Ferri, Haverford, sr., psychology

Kelli Joran, Drexel, jr., teacher education

Amanda Kirby, Gwynedd-Mercy, sr., history education

Emily Leitner, Penn, sr., cinema studies

Michelle Lubrano, Rowan, sr., health and exercise science

Kelly McKay, Chestnut Hill, sr., accounting

Taylor Peltzer, Philadelphia U., sr., marketing

Melanie Sarcinello, La Salle, jr., nursing

Missy Schweitzer, Temple, sr., kinesiology

Caribeth Shappell, Philadelphia U., sr., fashion design

Gwynedd-Mercy sophomore Rachel Fein, who was named the 2011 Colonial States Athletic Conference player of the year, compiled a 22-1 singles record, including an 18-0 mark at the No. 1 position. The Blue Bell resident helped her team to a fourth straight CSAC title and NCAA tournament appearance. A CSAC all-academic honoree, she has earned a 3.84 cumulative grade point average while majoring in education and minoring in special/early education.

Women's tennis team

Kelly Dennis, Chestnut Hill, so., accounting

Rachel Fein, Gwynedd Mercy, so., education

Michelle Lettmann, Cabrini, sr., graphic design

Maria Parapouras, Chestnut Hill, jr., psychology

Nastia Shcherbakova, Chestnut Hill, jr., computer and info. tech.

Juliana Victoria, Holy Family, jr., management

Haverford junior Kevin Caulfield played his matches at No. 1 in both singles and doubles. He finished the year with a 14-2 singles record that included a 6-1 mark in Centennial Conference play. In doubles action, Caulfield posted a 9-8 record. His performance on the court earned him first-team all-Centennial Conference honors in both singles and doubles for the second year in a row. Ranked eighth in singles in the most recent ITA Atlantic South Region poll, Caulfield is a psychology major and two-time member of the Centennial Academic Honor Roll.

Men's tennis team

Max Bressman, Swarthmore, sr., biology

Kevin Caulfield, Haverford, jr., psychology

Jared Morgan, Gwynedd-Mercy, sr., business

Kacper Rams, Temple, jr., finance,

Alvaro Vargas, U. of the Sciences, sr., psychology

Alex Veronis, St. Joseph's, jr., business

Penn's Scotty Williams finished third in the Ivy League championships and helped the Quakers win the league title with his putt on the third playoff hole. The senior posted a 73.7 stroke average and earned all-Ivy honors for the fourth straight season, the first player in Penn history to do so. Academically, Williams compiled a 3.67 cumulative grade point average while majoring in science, technology, and society. He was the individual medalist in the Ivy League championships as a sophomore, becoming just the second Penn player to win the tournament since it began in 1975.

Men's golf team

Brian Colbert, Villanova, sr. accounting

P.J. Fielding, Penn, jr. political science

Michael Kania, Villanova, jr., communications

Kyle Knapp, Swarthmore, so., engineering

Michael Serensits, Drexel, sr., business administration

Scotty Williams, Penn, sr., science, technology, and society

Penn's Grant Wilson helped the Quakers' heavyweight varsity eight successfully defend its title in the McCausland Cup race with George Washington. He also had a role in the varsity eight's 11th-place finish in the EARC Sprints - Penn's best showing in the event since 2007. A two-time academic all-area selection, Wilson boasts a 3.90 grade point average and was the recipient of Penn's Frazier Award, presented annually to a graduating male or female student-athlete with the highest GPA among the sports of basketball, rowing, track, soccer, baseball, or football.

Men's rowing team

Lorenzo Albala, Drexel, jr., biomedical engineering

Matt Benedetto, St. Joseph's, sr., accounting

Randall Lee, Drexel, sr., biological sciences

Andrew McGrath, Penn, sr., mechanical engineering/applied mechanics

Hurst Nuckols, Penn, sr., mechanical engineering/applied mechanics

Kevin Rorabaugh, Drexel, sr., architecture

Sean Stewart, St. Joseph's, sr., accounting

Brian Timlin, Drexel, sr., business administration

Grant Wilson, Penn, sr., mechanical engineering/applied mechanics

Bryn Mawr senior Brie Stark, a coxswain, is a three-time Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference all-academic selection. She helped the Owls attain a regional ranking of fourth and capture two gold medals and one silver in the conference championships, while finishing sixth in the 2012 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. Stark has earned the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Cambridge this fall and received the 2011-12 Anne Lee Delano Award given to Bryn Mawr's outstanding student-athlete.

Women's rowing team

Elizabeth Bratton, Drexel, sr., health sciences

Kelly Burke, Penn, sr., sociology

Emily Coyle, Drexel, sr., health sciences

Bridget Dempsey, St. Joseph's, sr., history

Kara Jackson, Temple, sr., kinesiology

Stephanie Martin, Bryn Mawr, sr., archaeology

Ariana McDevitt, St. Joseph's, sr., accounting

Brie Stark, Bryn Mawr, sr., psychology

Joanna Sutor, Temple, jr., nursing

Rowan junior Taylor Purdue was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that won the national championship in a time of 3 minutes, 10.56 seconds. It was the second year in a row that Rowan won the 4x400 gold medal in the NCAA championships. Purdue earned all-NJAC honors as part of the 2012 winning relay squad in the 4x400 and 4x200 relays. He was named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association all-academic team, earned all-academic honorable mention from the New Jersey Athletic Conference, and was a Rowan Scholar-Athlete.

Men's track and field team

Dennis Conn, Widener, sr., chemical engineering

Brian Fulton, Penn, sr., biological basis of behavior

Michael Garrity, Widener, sr., accounting

Samuel McEntee, Villanova, so., computer science

Damian Myers, Temple, jr., telecommunications and mass media

Travis Pitts, Delaware Valley, sr., turf management

Taylor Purdue, Rowan, jr., mechanical engineering

Tim Schoch, Haverford, sr., english

Andrew Sturner, Haverford, sr., physics/astronomy

Tim VanLiew, Rutgers-Camden, jr., psychology

Rowan's Jena Peacock had a 3.399 grade point average and earned all-American honors for her third-place finish in the 2012 NCAA Division III outdoor championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by posting a time of 10 minutes, 37.20 seconds. During the 2012 NCAA indoor championships, she ran the first leg for the distance medley relay team that eventually claimed seventh place before running to ninth place in the 5,000 with a time of 17:35.13. Peacock also earned all-NJAC first-team honors in the mile and 4x800-meter relay for the 2012 indoor season. During the outdoor season, she added second-team accolades in the 1,500 and honorable mention in the 800. During the indoor season she held the team's best times in the mile (4:58.80); 3,000 (10:21.89); and 5,000 (17:11.97). For the outdoor season, her 800 (2:15.47); 1,500 (4:35.32); and 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:37.20) times were the team's best. Peacock holds four program records: indoor - 4x800 relay (9:26.87); outdoor - 3,000 steeplechase (10:37.20); 4x800 relay (9:21.39); and distance medley relay (12:00.85). She was honored by the NJAC seven times during the indoor season and twice during the outdoor season as track athlete of the week.

Women's track and field team

Melissa Frick, Swarthmore, sr., biology/economics

Rebecca Hammond, Swarthmore, jr., biology/economics

Kristen Judge, Penn, sr., health and societies

Katherine Klinges, Gwynedd Mercy, sr., nursing

Kylie Lipinski, Haverford, sr., political science

Paige Madison, Penn, sr., nursing

Jena Peacock, Rowan, sr., elementary education/english

Sheila Reid, Villanova, sr., english/commutations

Rachelle Salem, Delaware Valley, sr., biology

Erica Szpynda, Widener, so., economics