52 Rams Named to Fall 2016 MASCAC All-Academic Team

Westfield, Mass. — A total of 695 student-athletes, including 52 from Framingham State University, have been honored by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) with selection to the league's Fall 2016 All-Academic Team as announced earlier today by MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann.

Football leads the way with 11 student-athletes honored, while women's cross country follows with eight.  Men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball each placed seven student-athletes on the All-Academic team, while men's cross country and field hockey landed six apiece.    

"It is a great honor to recognize the student-athletes on the 2016 MASCAC Fall All-Academic Team," Commission Baumann said.  "Academic success is the cornerstone of not only the Division III philosophy but also the MASCAC. I am proud of all the student-athletes who achieved academic honors while continuing to excel in their sport."

Honorees from the 2016 football squad include senior Chris Dagg (Management), juniors Tom Burns (Mathematics) and Kenny Sullivan (Psychology), sophomores Jared Archer (Management), Patrick Charlton (Management), Deron Hines (Sociology), Ben King (Criminology), Nolan Rogers (Business & IT) and Anthony Smith (Criminology), and freshman Peter Schiloski (Finance) and Akeem Smith (Management).

Members women's cross country squad honored are juniors Sam Morin (Food Science), Morgan Perry (Food & Nutrition) and Hannah Rogers (Chemistry), sophomore Allison Flood (Communication Arts), and freshmen Dana Arburr (Food & Nutrition), Jacqulyn Brooks (Communication Arts), Beatrice Donoghue (Fashion Design & Retailing), and Lauren Maniscalco (Food & Nutrition).

Honorees from the 2016 MASCAC Championship volleyball squad include senior Alycia Rackliffe (Food Science), juniors Vicki Anderson (Elementary Education), Molly Meehan (Food & Nutrition) and Jocelyn Wilbur (Psychology), sophomore Casie Thurber (Biology) and freshmen Bianca DeSousa (Political Science) and Deirdre Fay (Food & Nutrition).

The men's soccer team placed senior Corey Sousa (Finance), juniors Michael Bean (Accounting) and Jonathan Parker (Undeclared), sophomores Lucas Medeiros (Management) and Ken Stahovish (Economics) and freshmen Samuel Agyakawa (Computer Science) and Bryan Reis (Marketing) on the All-Academic team, while seniors Olivia Buonopane (Psychology), Michaela Hyland (Elementary Education) and Ashley Lees (Psychology), and sophomores Hannah Kane (Psychology), Jennifer Stevens (Psychology), Melissa Sybertz (Food & Nutrition) and Olivia Warila (Management) were honored from the women's soccer team.

Members of the 2016 men's cross country squad included on the All-Academic team are seniors Adam Meltzer (Sociology), Daniel Stevens (Sociology) and Richard Wertz (Business Administration), juniors Michael Ferris (Business Administration) and Doug Perkins (Biology), and freshman Matt Pellegrino (Business & IT).

Honorees from the field hockey team include seniors Devan Peterson (Sociology) and Kirsten Terrien (Liberal Studies), sophomores Sydney Buono (Communication Arts) and Shayna Yacyshyn (Studio Art) and freshmen Caitlin Baril (Management) and Jillian Kokernak (Undeclared).

Student-athletes that compete in championship varsity sports offered by each of the MASCAC institutions during the course of the fall 2016 athletic season and have achieved a 3.20 cumulative or semester-based grade point average during the semester are eligible for selection to the Fall All-Academic Team.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation's oldest Division III men's and women's playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom.  MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.  Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sports of men's ice hockey and football, while Western Connecticut State University joined the conference as an affiliate member in football beginning in 2013.