Sports News: Fall 1998

November 19, 1998

EIGHT ‘HOUNDS ON MAC EXECUTIVE DIRCETOR’S
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS

18 OTHERS NAMED TO ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

ANNVILLE, PA --- A total of 26 student-athletes from Moravian College are listed on the Middle Atlantic Conference All-Academic Teams and Honor Rolls that were released Thursday. This year is the first for the MAC Executive Director’s All-Academic Teams and the Academic Honor Rolls. In the past, all student-athletes were named to the MAC All-Academic Teams.

Moravian placed eight student-athletes on the MAC Executive Director’s All-Academic Teams while the other 18 were named to the Academic Honor Roll. The eight honorees on the MAC Executive Director’s All-Academic Teams were second only to Drew University’s nine selections among the 16 MAC schools.

To be eligible for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, maintain a 3.20 or higher grade point average and be a starter of significant reserve on a fall athletic team.

The field hockey team led Moravian with eight honorees including two selections to the MAC Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. The women’s tennis and women’s volleyball squads each had four total honorees while the men’s soccer and men’s cross country teams had three selections. The women’s cross country team had two student-athletes honored while the football squad and the women’s soccer team had one selection apiece.

Leading the field hockey team were juniors attack Stacey Laubenheimer (Marlton, NJ/Burnt Hills {NY} HS) and goalie Tricia Salomonsen (Effort/Pleasant Valley HS) who were named to the MAC Field Hockey Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. Laubenheimer led the Lady Greyhounds in assists with five and also scored three goals while Salomonsen posted a 1.31 goals-against average and five shutouts in a 7-11 season for Moravian.

Named to the MAC Field Hockey Academic Honor Roll were senior midfielder Becky Ziegenfuss (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview HS), juniors attack Nicole Drey (Bethlehem/ Northampton HS), defender Jill Maghkian (Brookline, NH/Hollis-Brookline HS) and defender Colleen Walsh (Northampton/ Northampton HS) and sophomores attack Jennifer Cosentino (Shohola/Delaware Valley HS) and attack Chelsea Roberts (Philadelphia/St. Basil HS). Ziegenfuss, the team’s captain, had three assists on the season while Drey netted one goal. Cosentino scored two goals early in the year before being sidelined with a broken nose. Roberts tied for second on the squad with five goals while Maghkian and Walsh both played on defense for Moravian.

Senior Jessie Coughlin (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS), who completed the regular season undefeated in singles play for the fourth consecutive year and helped the Lady Greyhounds to their third straight MAC title, was named to the MAC Women’s Tennis Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. Moravian was 16-0 this fall while Coughlin completed her career with a 62-2 record. Seniors Liz Chamberlain (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush Central HS), Julie Fanella (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert HS) and Lyn Ramsey (Perkasie/ Pennridge HS) each earned a spot on the MAC Women’s Tennis Academic Honor Roll. Chamberlain posted a 4-3 singles mark while Fanella was 1-1 in doubles and Ramsey was 1-1 in singles.

Senior middle blocker Stephanie Rickards (Lansdowne/Upper Darby HS), who has the highest grade point average among the student-athletes selected at a perfect 4.00, was named to the MAC Women’s Volleyball Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. Rickards, who was a second Team GTE Academic All-American in 1997, led Moravian to a 27-7 record and the squad’s second consecutive berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament with a school record 468 kills, 125 blocks and a .368 hitting percentage. Sophomores defensive specialist Natalie Balaziuk (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) and middle hitter Sara Young (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock HS) and senior outside hitter Teresa Hahn (Whitehall/Whitehall HS) were named to the MAC Women’s Volleyball Academic Honor Roll. Balaziuk had 333 digs and 63 service aces this season while Young contributed 135 kills and 64 blocks and Hahn had 115 kills and 82 blocks.

Senior defender Kris Silver (Quakertown/Quakertown HS) helped the Greyhounds allow just 2.22 goals per match in an 8-10-1 season. He was named to the MAC Men’s Soccer Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. Classmate forward Cory Kinley (Lewes, DE/Cape Henlopen HS) and junior goalie Ryan Shick (Jamison/Central Bucks East HS) were named to the MAC Men’s Soccer Academic Honor Roll. Kinley had two assists in her senior season while Shick posted a 2.22 goals against average, three shutouts and 5.2 saves per contest.

Senior Chris Lowthert (Auburn/Pottsville HS) and junior Tim Pfluger (Slatington/ Northern Lehigh HS), who each earned MAC All-Conference honors with top ten finishes in the MAC Championships, were both named to the MAC Men’s Cross Country Executive Director’s All-Academic Team. Moravian captured its MAC record sixth straight title this fall. Sophomore Damon Rutherford (Reading/Exeter HS), who was 16th in the MAC meet, earned a spot on the MAC Men’s Cross Country Academic Honor Roll.

Junior Jen Samson (Tannersville/Pocono Mountain HS) and sophomore Leah Williams (Andreas/Tamaqua HS) each earned a spot on the MAC Women’s Cross Country Academic Honor Roll. Moravian captured its conference record sixth straight MAC title this fall. Samson, who missed the MAC meet with an injury, ran in the NCAA Division III National Championships for the Lady Greyhounds in 1997. Williams competed in three meets in her first season with the cross country team.

Junior strong safety Jason Goldan (Neshanic, NJ/Hillsborough HS) was named to the MAC Football Executive Director’s All-Academic Team after making 76 tackles this season for the 3-7 Greyhounds. Goldan also made nine tackles for loss and had 12 pass break-ups.

Junior Jen Polaha (West Lawn/Holy Name HS), who is a starting midfielder, was named to the MAC Women’s Soccer Academic Honor Roll. Polaha scored six goals and had two assists for the 8-10 Lady Greyhounds.