Wednesday, May 26, 2004

37 MORAVIAN SPRING STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

ANNVILLE, PA --- The Moravian College spring athletic teams had 37 members named to the 2004 Middle Atlantic Conference Spring-All-Academic Team with at least one member from six of Moravian’s eight spring sports and led by 14 honorees from the women’s outdoor track and field team.

To be eligible for the MAC All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must be a starter or significant reserve, a sophomore, junior or senior and maintain a 3.2 grade-point average.

In addition to the 14 selections from the women’s track and field team, the men’s track and field and softball teams each had seven members honored, while the women’s lacrosse and baseball teams each had four student-athletes. The golf team had one student-athlete honored.

Leading the women’s outdoor track and field team to their 12th consecutive MAC Outdoor Championship were juniors Julie Anderson (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), Heather McGarvie (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) and Chelsea Mullins (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe HS) and sophomore Rebecca Moore (Easton, PA/Easton HS), who all placed second at the MAC Championships to earn All-Middle Atlantic Conference First Team. Anderson was second in the hammer throw while McGarvie was second in both the 800 meters and the 1,500 meters. Mullins took second in the 10,000 meters, and she was on the All-Conference Second Team by placing sixth in the 5,000 meters while Moore placed second in the pole vault.

Junior Margaret Benny (Tamaqua, PA/Tamaqua Area HS) also earned All-Conference First Team honors with a third place finish at the MAC Championships in the 100-meter hurdles, and she was seventh in the 400-meter hurdles. Junior Kellie Smith (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) participated in the 800 and 1,500-meter races while junior Kelly Haymaker (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley HS) ran the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races.

Also earning spots on the MAC All-Academic Team are senior Jennifer Brief (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson HS), juniors Alicia Hernandez (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe HS), and Alison Stoyko (Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin HS). Joining them are sophomores Lauren Bahnatka (West Chester, PA/Henderson HS), Stephanie Beitler (Fogelsville, PA/Northwestern Lehigh HS), Bryn Lipovsky (Danville, PA/Bloomsburg HS), Sarah Mueller (Wescosville, PA/Emmaus HS) and Alexis Vergalla (Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees HS).

The Moravian men’s track & field team placed sixth at the 2004 MAC Outdoor Championships and had seven student-athletes on the MAC All-Academic Team. Senior Scott Silvoy (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) was a First Team All-Conference honoree after placing third in the 100-meter dash. Sophomore Grant Curry (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra HS) was on the Second Team All-Conference after finishing fourth in the 100-meter dash, and he was seventh in the long jump.
Other Greyhounds from the men’s track & field team that earned spots on the MAC All-Academic Team were junior Anthony Bisti (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddon Heights HS) and sophomores Casey Hoffman (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh HS), Ian Nuno (Middletown, DE/Caravel Academy HS), Greg Rarick (Drums, PA/Hazleton HS) and William Shimer (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS).

The Moravian softball team finished the 2004 season with a 40-6 mark, a school record for victories, and played in the 2004 NCAA Division III National Championship Game at the Division III World Series. Junior shortstop Heather Bortz (Allentown, PA/Parkland HS), 2004 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American, set a single season school record 74 hits and tied the school record for career hits with 191. Bortz, who had an NCAA all-division record 44-game hitting streak from April 15, 2003 to April 17, 2004, also contributed 46 runs scored, 19 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 11 walks, eight doubles and three triples.

Sophomore pitcher Meagan Hennessy (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township HS), a 2004 Louisville Slugger/NFCA First Team All-American, posted a 22-4 record, a school record for victories, with a school record 11 shutouts and three saves. Hennessy, who started the season 15-0, had a 1.18 ERA in 184 innings of work, and she allowed just 125 hits and 47 walks while striking out 168 batters. Hennessy became just the second pitcher in school history with 300 strikeouts in a career.

Senior third baseman Janelle Brey (Allentown, PA/Dieruff HS) has continued to rewrite the Moravian record books this spring. Brey holds 16 Moravian game, season and career records and ranks in the top five of the career offensive categories she doesn’t own the record. Brey hit .384 this season with 56 hits, 45 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 13 walks, 13 doubles, a triple and seven home runs. Brey has also set the school record with 111 assists in the field this season.

Senior outfielder Jessica Esposito (Madison, NJ/Madison HS) contributed 23 hits, nine runs, ten RBIs and four doubles while junior outfielder Krissy Cianfichi (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks East HS) had 19 hits on the season with ten runs, six walks, five RBIs, two doubles and a triple. Sophomore catcher Kira Weller (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson West Lawn HS) contributed ten hits, nine walks, four runs, four RBIs and a double while senior second baseman Megan Smith (Phillipsburg, NJ/ Belvidere HS) had eight hits, eight runs, seven walks and four RBIs.

The Greyhound baseball team, which played in the 2004 Commonwealth Conference Tournament Championship game, had four student-athletes named to the MAC All-Academic Team. Moravian had a 15-22 record for the season. Senior shortstop Matt Turtell (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst HS) led the Greyhounds with a school record tying 43 hits and a .355 average with 15 RBIs, 31 runs, 11 stolen bases, six doubles, a triple, a home run and 16 walks.

Senior outfielder Ethan Ordog (Roebling, NJ/Holy Cross HS) added 17 hits, 13 walks, three doubles, seven runs and 11 RBIs. Sophomore second baseman Andrew Wayne (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough HS) had 17 hits, 13 runs, ten walks, five doubles and 12 RBIs while sophomore first baseman Bryan Wolf (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) contributed six hits with four runs and a triple before suffering a season-ending injury.

The Moravian women’s lacrosse team, which was 2-12 in just its second season as an NCAA varsity sport, placed four members on the MAC All-Academic Team. Sophomore Shannon Kelly (Southlake, TX/Carroll HS) contributed 16 goals and seven assists for 23 points for the Greyhounds while senior Kaity Cerco (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) led the team in assists with nine to go along with seven goals for 16 points.

In the cage, junior Hayley Zamek (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough HS) saw all 852 minutes for the Greyhounds. She made 149 saves, had a .419 saves percentage, and posted a 14.58 goals against average. Sophomore Lauren Johnston (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Upper Moreland HS) also earned a spot on the MAC All-Academic Team.

Sophomore John Donofrio (Easton, PA/Easton HS) earned a spot on the MAC All-Academic after helping the Moravian golf team place second at the 2004 MAC Championships and win three invitationals. Donofrio had a season average of 85.8 with a low round of 77 at the Moravian Spring Invitational played at Southmoore Golf Course.