Wednesday, May 15, 2002
MORAVIAN HONORS SENIOR STUDENT-ATHLETES;
WOLFSBERGER & ABBATE NAMED SENIOR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
BETHLEHEM, PA --- Moravian College honored its 2002 senior student-athletes at its annual
Senior Athletics Awards Banquet Wednesday night. Football and baseball standout Michael
Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) was named the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete
while cross country and track runner Heidi Wolfsberger (Moosic, PA/Riverside HS) was
honored with the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete award. The Blue & Grey Scholar Athletes
awards were presented to Wolfsberger and soccer athlete Scott Heydt (Boyertown,
PA/Boyertown HS). The H.T.D. Gillespie Award for outstanding service to Moravian's
athletics program was presented to Dr. Brett Godbout.
Abbate, who helped the baseball to 13-25 overall record this season and the football
team to a 5-5 mark, had one of the best baseball seasons in Moravian history. He set school
records for games played (38), hits (43) and at-bats (131) while hitting .328. Abbate,
who was named a Commonwealth Conference Second Team All-Star also had 34 runs scored, ten
doubles and 27 walks, which each rank second in school history. In his career, Abbate set
the Moravian marks for games played (133), at-bats (422), runs scored (118), doubles (27),
walks (96) and stolen bases (39). He is fourth in hits (118) and total bases (150). Abbate was
also a football player at Moravian, catching 114 passes (fourth all-time) for 1,619 yards
(third all-time). He was also second in career punt returns (81) and career punt return
yardage (680). Abbate is a four-time member of the Middle Atlantic Conference All-Academic
Team.
Wolfsberger is one of the most prolific student-athletes in Moravian history. She
is a three time Middle Atlantic Conference Champion, a two-time NCAA Division III Mideast
Region Champion and a three-time All-American in cross country, twice finishing as the
runner-up at the national championships. On the track, Wolfsberger won the 2001
NCAA Division III National Championship in the 1,500 meters at the indoor meet and she
has been an All-American seven times in her career, including a runner-up finish in the
outdoor 1,500 meters in 2000. Wolfsberger won 18 MAC individual and relay championships
over four years and she was named the Most Outstanding Performer four times, twice indoors
and twice outdoors. Wolfsberger, who has a 3.90 GPA with a major in psychology and
elementary education, was named to the MAC All-Academic Team nine times in her career and
she is a two-time Verizon First Team Academic All-American.
Heydt helped the Moravian men's squad to a 13-6-2 record this season, their first
wining season since 1995, the Commonwealth Conference playoffs for the second straight
season, and they led the team to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Mid-Atlantic Region
semifinal match, the first time Moravian was in the ECAC Tournament since 1990. Heydt contributed
three goals and three assists for nine points and he finished his career with 11 goals
and 11 assists for 33 points. Heydt, who was a Verizon First Team Academic All-American
this season, completed his degree in elementary education and psychology with a 3.92 GPA.
Over the last 12 years, Godbout has served as the team physician for all of Moravian's
athletic teams. Godbout, who also works with the schools in the Bethlehem Area School
District, is a orthopedic surgeon at Coordinated Health Systems in Bethlehem. |