Wednesday, May 9, 2001

MORAVIAN HONORS SENIOR STUDENT-ATHLETES;
MATIJASICH & JOSEPH NAMED SENIOR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

BETHLEHEM, PA --- Moravian College honored its 2001 senior student- athletes at its annual Senior Awards Banquet Wednesday night.  Football and track & field standout Doug Joseph (Allentown/Parkland HS) was named the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete while women's soccer player Becky Matijasich (Alpharetta, GA/Wilson West Lawn {PA} HS) was honored with the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete award.  The Blue & Grey Scholar Athletes awards were presented to volleyball player Sara Young (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock HS) and cross country and track & field athlete Damon Rutherford (Reading/ Exeter HS).  The H.T.D. Gillespie Award for outstanding service to Moravian's athletics program was presented to alum Bob Gratz '75.

Joseph was a four-year starter on the Moravian football team and helped the Greyhounds to a 7-3 record his freshman season with five interceptions while being honored as a Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Second Team All-Star.  As a senior in 2000, Joseph was named a MAC Commonwealth First Team All-Star and led the Greyhounds to a 6-4 mark while leading the conference with 22 pass break-ups.  Joseph has also competed on the indoor and outdoor track & field teams as a sprinter.  He placed second in the 100-meters in this past weekend's MAC Championships to earn MAC All-Star First Team accolades and he was a First-Team All-Star in the 4x100-meter relay.

Matijasich helped the women's soccer to its first-ever postseason berth, a 15-4 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the Commonwealth Conference to earn the tri-regular season championship in 2000.  Matijasich was a Commonwealth Conference Second Team All-Star selection and finished her career ranked second in school history with 63 points on 23 goals and 17 assists.  Matijasich was the Commonwealth Rookie of the Year in 1998 and the 2000 Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Outstanding Athlete.

Young, a middle blocker, helped the Greyhounds to four straight Commonwealth Conference tournament appearances and the first three NCAA Division III Tournament berths in school history.  The Greyhounds were 21-9 in 2000 and Young led the team with 77 blocks and she was second with 225 kills.  She was named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star Second Team this year, Commonwealth Rookie of the Year in 1998 and was a three-time member of the MAC All-Academic Team.  Young, who is an elementary education and Spanish major completed her college degree with a 3.92 grade point average.

Rutherford led the 2001 indoor and outdoor Greyhound track & field teams to third place finishes in the MAC Championship meets.  He was a MAC First Team All-Star in the distance medley relay team indoors this season and in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the MAC Outdoor Meet.  In his four years, Rutherford finished in the top six at the MAC Championships 11 times in six different events with two titles in the distance medley relay and one in the 4x800-meter relay.  He was a nine-time MAC All-Academic Team member and competed in the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional in cross country four times.  Rutherford completed his degree in mathematics with a 3.82 grade point average.

Over the years, Gratz has been a strong supporter of Moravian Athletics after a Hall of Fame football career.  Gratz, who was inducted into the Moravian College Hall of Fame in 1990, currently serves as vice-president of the Blue & Grey Club and as a member of the Hall of Fame Committee, which he also served as chairman.  Throughout his career in education, Gratz has continued to promote Moravian and helped many students attend the College.