MORAVIAN HAS 47 STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO THE LANDMARK CONFERENCE FALL ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

MADISON, NJ --- The Landmark Conference has recognized 369 student-athletes including 47 from Moravian College by selecting them for the 2009 Fall Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll. The honorees were selected from all eight Landmark Conference institutions.

The Landmark Academic Honor Roll recognizes all fall student athletes of sophomore standing or older with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The student-athletes must complete the fall season in good standing with their team. All eight Landmark Conference institutions placed at least 12 athletes on the Academic Honor Roll and all six fall Landmark sports were represented on the team.

The Landmark Fall All-Academic Team, which features two male and two female student-athletes from each Landmark institution will be released later this fall. In addition a Senior Scholar Athlete will be chosen for each Landmark sport.

Along with the Landmark Academic Honor Roll, six fall sport athletes earned spots on ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams, two each in men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball.

The Landmark Conference is in its third season of competition and includes eight institutions covering the mid-Atlantic region. The Landmark crowned six team championships this fall, and sent nine programs to either the NCAA or ECAC postseason as well as four individuals to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Moravian had student-athletes selected from all six of its fall teams that compete in the conference with the women’s soccer and field hockey teams leading the way with ten honorees each.  The men’s soccer program had eight honorees while both the men’s and women’s cross country placed seven student-athletes each on the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.  The women’s volleyball squad had six student-athletes named to the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.

The women’s soccer program posted an overall record of 8-8-2, with four seniors on the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll, defender Terri Roberts (Danville, PA/Danville HS), midfielders JeriAnne Weiss (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS), Alessandra Valdetara (Butler, NJ/Butler HS) and Brittany Deiling (Chews Landing, NJ/Triton Regional HS).

 Also making the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll from the women’s soccer team were juniors Tara Alberse (New Providence, NJ/New Providence HS), Sarah Halpin (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West HS), and Kaitlyn Russell (South River, NJ/South River HS), along with sophomores Elizabeth Brundage (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS), Diana Feldmann (York, PA/Central York HS), and Kimberly Gogel (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park HS).

The field hockey team, which was 7-11 this season, had six seniors make the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll including midfielders Samantha Bell (Sparta, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS), and Julie Bisci (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg HS), defenders Stephanie Dellaquilla (Woodbury, NJ/West Deptford HS), and Patricia Eck (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua HS), goalie Alina Ross (Paoli, PA/Conestoga HS), and midfielder Damara Varney (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS).

Other team members on the fall academic honor roll for the field hockey team were juniors Maura Acox (Old Bridge, NJ/St. John Vianney HS), Lizzette Arias (Arlington, VA/Wakefield HS), Alexandra Lopez (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan HS), and Rebecca Renaldo (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS).

The men’s soccer team finished out its season with an overall record of 4-11-2, with the help of their three seniors forward Kyle Jablon (Blairstown, NJ/North Warren HS), and midfielders Evan Outlaw (Zion Grove, PA/Pleasant Valley HS), and Blake Ritchey (Harleysville, PA/Souderton HS), who were named to the Academic Honor Roll.

Joining the seniors on the squad were juniors Timothy Dollarton (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township HS), Brian Hunscher (Ann Arbor, MI/Ann Arbor Pioneer HS), Christopher Walsh (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore HS), and Bryant White (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS), along with sophomore Michael Dobbins (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS).

The Greyhound men’s cross country team’s honorees included seniors Timothy Betz (Havertown, PA/Haverford HS) and Steven DeFazio (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville HS). Also making the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll are juniors Jesse Miller (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg HS), Connor Skutches (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), and Jacob Tazik (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing HS) and sophomores Matthew Lutcza (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley HS) and Zachariah Rivenbark (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS).

Leading the honorees for the women’s cross country squad was senior Gail Dornenburg (Haverford, PA/Haverford HS). Also making the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll are juniors Tara Chiarella (Hallstead, PA/Montrose Area HS) and Kaleen Holden (Scranton, PA/Bishop Hannan HS). The women’s cross country also had four sophomores make the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll, Kathryn Engwall (Columbia, NJ/North Warren HS), Katherine Pritcheett (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville HS), Catherine Rockwell (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson West Lawn HS), and Kristina Ruggiero (Cedar Grove, NJ/Cedar Grove HS).

Four juniors and two sophomores comprise the selections from the Moravian women’s volleyball team, which finished the year 15-18 overall. Honorees include juniors middle hitter Mary King (Paramus, NJ/Paramus HS), defensive specialist Katie Kercher (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) and middle hitter Christine Reeser (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock HS) as well as sophomore, Kristin Hannings (Levittown, PA/Pennsbury HS) and Ashley Schmidt (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS).

Parts of release courtesy of Landmark Conference office