Thursday, May 9, 2002

ABBATE NAMED TO BASEBALL ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM

BETHLEHEM, PA --- Senior outfielder Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) has been named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District II College Division Baseball Second Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

To be eligible for Verizon Academic All-America® honors, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve.  The College Division is made up of all the NCAA Division II and III Schools in the nation as well as all NAIA schools.  Student-athletes from NCAA Division I schools are named to the University Division Teams.  District II is made up of schools from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

This year marks the 50th year of the Academic All-America program, as the inaugural team was announced on December 6, 1952. Since that time, more than 12,000 students have been named Academic All-America team members at colleges and universities at all levels for every recognized NCAA sport. The 22 members of the original team, which included football players only, will be honored with a series of events throughout the current academic year. The program's popularity resulted in a significant expansion for the current academic year, as 816 student-athletes --- a 19 percent increase over the previous highest number -- will be selected to 12 different Academic All-America teams during the 2001-02 academic season.

Abbate, who helped the Greyhounds to 13-25 overall record this season, had one of the best seasons in Moravian history. He set school records for games played (38), hits (43) and at-bats (131) while hitting .328. Abbate, who was also named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star Second Team, also had 34 runs scored, ten doubles and 27 walks, which each rank second in school history.