Sports News: Spring 2003

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

MORAVIAN HONORS SENIOR STUDENT-ATHLETES;
CUPPLES & McLEAN NAMED SENIOR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

BETHLEHEM, PA --- Moravian College honored its 2003 senior student-athletes at its annual Senior Athletics Awards Banquet Wednesday night in the Haupert Union Building. Football standout John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) was named the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete while basketball player Kelly McLean (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS) was honored with the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete award. The Blue & Grey Scholar Athletes awards were presented to women’s tennis player Jennifer Genevese (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) and football athlete Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS). The H.T.D. Gillespie Award for outstanding service to Moravian’s athletics program was presented to Fred Reinhard.

Cupples, who helped the football team to 7-4 overall record this season and squad’s first-ever appearance in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Southeast Championship game, made 105 tackles, including 78 assisted tackles, from his middle linebacker position last fall. Cupples was named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference First Team in 2002, and he was also honored as an ECAC Southeast First Team All-Star. Cupples, who was on the All-Conference Second Team, as a junior, made 344 tackles in his four-year career with 144 solo stops. He added six sacks; five interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

McLean, a forward, was a Commonwealth All-Conference Second Team honoree this past winter for Moravian as she helped the Greyhounds to s 20-8 overall record, the Commonwealth Conference championship game and the school’s first ECAC playoff berth since 1994. She played the final seven games of her senior season with a torn ACL, and McLean finished the year with 205 points and 139 rebounds. In her career, McLean scored 1,152 points, which ranks eighth in school history, and she grabbed 711 rebounds, the fourth highest total in Moravian history. McLean also earned a spot on the MAC All-Academic Team as a senior.

Genevese helped the Moravian women’s tennis squad to a second straight undefeated season at 15-0 and the squad’s third consecutive MAC Championship. She was a Commonwealth All-Conference First Team selection and the Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Player of the Year this past season. Genevese had a singles mark of 15-5 last fall, and she posted a 53-13 singles record in her career. Genevese won the 2001 MAC Doubles Championship, and she was a member of the MAC All-Academic team three times. Genevese, who was also a member of the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District II College Division Women’s At-Large Team, has a 3.92 grade point average, and she is majoring in business management with minors in Spanish and accounting.

Blackledge was a key part of the Moravian defense from his defensive end position. He made 65 tackles last fall and led the team with 20.5 tackles for loss. Blackledge finished his career with 149 total tackles with 44.5 of them coming behind the line of scrimmage with 13.5 career sacks. This past fall, Blackledge was named to the All-MAC Second Team and the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-South Region Team. He also played in the second annual East Coast Bowl and was a member of the MAC All-Academic Team three times. Blackledge, who was a member of the Verizon Academic All-District II College Division First Team in 2000 and 2002, has a 3.48 grade point average, and he is majoring in economics with a minor in mathematics.

Reinhard has made many different contributions to the Moravian Athletic Department. He is a tremendous supporter of the Greyhound athletic teams and attends as many home and away contests as possible. Reinhard has also help recruit student-athletes for Moravian’s programs, and he has helped the school financially, including the initial gift to begin the lacrosse teams at the school. Reinhard’s public relations support - personally and through his through his companies – newspapers, cable television and the Internet– have helped promote the college with hundreds of thousands of people in the region.