29 GREYHOUNDS NAMED TO MASCAC SPRING ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

ANNVILLE, PA --- The Moravian College spring athletic teams had 29 members named to the 2006 Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation Spring Academic Honor Roll announced Tuesday with at least one member from six of the eight spring sports sponsored by Moravian.

The Honor Roll, which has a total of 478 student-athletes on it, comprises those student-athletes of sophomore class standing or higher who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 (4.00 scale) or higher and completed the playing season in good standing.

The women’s track and field team had nine honorees while the men’s track and field squad had six. The women’s lacrosse team had five honorees while the softball team had four members of their team on the MASCAC Spring Academic Honor Roll. The golf squad had three honorees while the men’s lacrosse team had two student-athletes honored.

Leading the selections for the women’s track team was junior Erin Recker (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua HS), who won the 100-meter dash at the 2006 Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Championships. Recker also earned All-Conference honors in the 200-meter dash. Juniors Suzanne Tamlyn (Wappingers Falls, NY/Wallkill HS) and sophomore Amy Reehil (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Catholic HS) ran with Recker on Moravian’s 4x100-meter relay team that placed second at the MAC Championships. Tamlyn was also on the All-Conference Team in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes while Reehil earned spots in the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles.

In addition to the trio, four of Moravian’s other six women’s track & field honorees on the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll earned All-Conference honors with top six finishes at the 2006 MAC Championships. They were seniors Rebecca Moore (Easton, PA/Easton HS), who was All-Conference in the 400-meter hurdles and Lauren Bahnatka (West Chester, PA/Henderson HS), who was All-Conference in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, junior Tammy Balliet (Whitehall, PA/Whithall HS), who earned All-Conference accolades in the hammer throw, and sophomore Theresa Zataveski (Quakertown, PA/Gwynedd Mercy Academy HS) who was All-Conference in the 100-meter hurdles. Senior Alexis Vergalla (Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees HS) and junior Jennifer Connolly (Weare, NH/Manchester West HS) were also named to the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Leading the men’s track and field team, which placed 3rd in the MAC Outdoor Championships, was sophomore Nathaniel Tussey (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown HS), who won the 110-meter high hurdles and 400-meter hurdles with school record times. Tussey, who also ran on Moravian’s 4x400-meter relay team, will compete in both events at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships this week.

Sophomore Allan Fatzinger (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua HS) earned All-Conference honors with a fifth place finish in the pole vault while sophomore Timothy Pagano (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West HS) competed in the 5,000-meter run. Seniors William Shimer (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) and Greg Rarick (Drums, PA/Hazleton HS) also competed at the MAC Championships with Shimer running in the 10,000 meters and Rarick participating in the 1,500-meter run. Sophomore Vince Pagano (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East HS) also earned a spot on the MASCAC Spring Academic Honor Roll.

The Moravian women’s lacrosse team was 2-14 in its fourth NCAA season and had five members named to the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll. Senior defender Lauren Johnston (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Upper Moreland HS) contributed 45 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers while junior defender Jenna Abramson (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) added 12 ground balls and 12 draw controls.

Also earning spots on the MASCAC Spring Academic Honor Roll were sophomores attack Erica Spatz (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken HS), who missed most of the season with an injury, attack Jessica Bodine (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown HS), who had five goals and two assists to go along with 27 ground balls and ten draw controls, and goalie Laura Schantz (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), who filled in for the Greyhounds with a 14.67 goals-against average, 133 saves and 32 ground balls this season.

Leading the softball team’s selections was senior pitcher Meagan Hennessy (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township HS), who helped Moravian to a 37-9 record and the NCAA Division III Regional Championship game for the fourth straight season. Hennessy, who was named the Commonwealth Co-Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Pitcher of the Year the last three seasons, was 25-7 in the circle this season with a 0.66 ERA, 16 shutouts, five saves, two no-hitters, 267 strikeouts and just 115 hits, 53 walks and 30 runs (22 earned) in 234 2/3 innings of action. Hennessy, who already owns every Moravian pitching record, finished her career with a 92-24 record and as one of the top pitchers in NCAA Division III history. Hennessy is ranked in the top 15 in shutouts with 53 which is second all-time, fourth in complete games with 105, fifth in strikeouts with 876, sixth in wins with 92, sixth in innings pitched with 819 2/3, tenth in games started with 114, tied for tenth in games with 129 and 14th in ERA at 0.91. Hennessy, who was the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Week six times this season and was the Commonwealth Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, had one hit at the plate this spring and has scored 11 runs.

Also being honored from the softball team were junior first baseman Rebecca DeJulio (Vineland, NJ/Sacred Heart HS) and sophomores second baseman Beth Paly (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) and infielder Keri Traficante (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks West HS). Paly, who was named to NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team for the second straight year, has 48 hits, a .324 average, 22 runs, 18 RBIs, seven doubles and three homers. Traficante added four hits and six runs while DeJulio had three hits, two doubles and two runs.

One of Moravian’s three golf team MASCAC honorees helped the Greyhounds win their first-ever Commonwealth Conference Championship at the Shawnee Country Club. Junior Brian Bergstol (Mt. Bethel, PA/Bangor HS) was named the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year after earning medalist honors with a four-under par 212 over the 54-hole tournament. Bergstol set a school record with a 74.6 stroke per round average this season.

Juniors Thad Miller (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) and John Gilbert (Allentown, PA/Freedom HS) also were named to the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll. Miller averaged 82.4 strokes over eight rounds with a season low round of 77 while Gilbert averaged 86.9 over nine rounds with low of 75 at the Moravian College Fall Invitational.

Junior midfielders Ken Blom (Rochelle Park, NJ/Bergen Catholic HS) and Tristan Flis (Harleysville, PA/North Penn HS) were the two members of the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll from the Moravian men’s lacrosse team. Blom led Moravian in scoring with 36 points on 21 goals and 15 assists, and he added five man-up goals, 35 ground balls and 23 face-off wins while Flis had three points on two goals and an assist to go with seven ground balls. The Greyhounds were 4-12 in just their third season as a varsity sport.