The MAC office has announced the 2010 spring scholar athletes. The MAC Awards Committee bases selection on academic record (50%) and athletic prowess (50%). One student-athlete is chosen per sport. The winner must be a senior with a minimum GPA of 3.2.
Complete list
Misericordia University senior Nate Newman has been selected as the 2010 MAC baseball Scholar-Athlete.
The MAC Awards Committee bases selection on academic record (50%) and athletic prowess (50%). One student-athlete is chosen per sport, across both conferences (Freedom and Commonwealth). The winner must be a senior with a minimum GPA of 3.2.
Newman, an Elementary Education major, has excelled in the classroom at MU, maintaining a GPA of 3.59.
A shortstop/third baseman, Newman has also established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the Freedom Conference. He has a conference-leading 11 home runs this season, which has already broken the school single-season record that he equaled in 2009.
For the season, Newman is batting .348 with 40 RBIs. He recently became the school’s all-time leader in stolen bases. Newman was an all-conference selection in both 2008 and 2009.
Track & field senior Allis Sanders and softball senior Kristen Uhas have earned the Middle Atlantic Conference's highest honor, being named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports.
The honor is awarded to one outstanding senior in each sport from among the 16 MAC schools as that sport's top student-athlete. Honorees are chosen based on athletic and academic achievement.
Sanders, a native of Cleona and graduate of Annville-Cleona High School, has been a record-setting sprinter for the LVC women's track & field team. A four-time MAC Academic Honor Roll member, Sanders won a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay at the 2009 MAC Outdoor Championships, and is the lead-off on the 2010 4x100 that has qualified for ECAC Championships with the third-fastest time in school history. Sanders holds two LVC indoor records, in the 300 and as a member of the 4x200 relay, and she is a member of the outdoor record-holding sprint medley relay (4:22.43). She also appears on the outdoor top-10 list in the 100 (13.11, 9th) and 4x100 (50.39, 3rd).
Sanders is an ACS chemistry major carrying a 3.85 GPA, and has been an award-winning student, winning first place for her research last fall at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, and also earning the Judith Bond Award as the top junior chemistry major among colleges and universities in south central Pennsylvania.
Uhas, a native of Pottstown and graduate of Owen J. Roberts High School, has led the LVC softball program to unprecedented success over her four seasons. A two-time First-Team All-Commonwealth and NFCA All-Region selection, Uhas is LVC's all-time leader in runs batted in, and she led the Dutchmen to their first-ever conference title and NCAA appearance in 2008. A four-year starter at first base, she is a member of LVC's 100-hits club.
Off the field, Uhas makes an impact on campus as a member of the LVC Board of Trustees, one of two LVC students to serve in that role. She is a co-founder of Valley Girls MADE, which tutors students from low-income families and also works with Ronald McDonald House, and she is a recipient of the College's Bronze Service Award. Uhas is an elementary and special education major with a 3.85 GPA. She has been an MAC Academic Honor Roll member and NFCA Scholar-Athlete, and is a member of the Phi Alpha Epsilon honor society.
Senior Joey Hasbrouck (Wantagh, N.Y.) became the first Manhattanville student-athlete to receive a MAC Scholar-Athlete award on Tuesday afternoon, as the Valiant attacker was named the Middle Atlantic Conferences Men’s Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Scholar-Athlete honor recognizes one senior student-athlete in each conference-sponsored sport that best combines excellence on the playing field and in the classroom. To be nominated for the award, a senior must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) and provide a meaningful contribution to his or her team throughout the season. Hasbrouck’s selection makes him the first Valiant student-athlete in any sport to receive such an honor in the school’s three years with the Middle Atlantic Conferences.
Hasbrouck has a 3.688 cumulative GPA entering his final semester as a history and secondary education double major at Manhattanville, the highest GPA of any Valiant men’s lacrosse student-athlete. A Dean’s List student every semester at the school, he is a two-time (and soon-to-be three-time) MAC All-Academic Team honoree.
On the field, Hasbrouck has been one of Manhattanville’s most consistent performers in every season with the team. He led the Valiants in goals (22), assists (28) and points (50) as a sophomore, then posted a team-leading 13 assists and 27 points in 2009. So far as a senior, Hasbrouck has once again been an offensive leader, tying for the team lead with 18 goals and adding a team-high 17 assists for a team-best 35 points. With two games left in the regular season, the Wantagh, N.Y., native is fifth in assists (71), seventh in points (147) and ninth in goals (76) in program history.
Already one of the most highly decorated student-athletes in the history of the Wilkes University women's tennis program, senior Xiaoqiao Zhang added another accolade to the list as she was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Zhang is a three-time All-Freedom Conference first team selection and was named Conference Player of the Year in 2007. She has played a key role in leading the Lady Colonels to three conference championships as well as three consecutive trips to the NCAA National Tournament. This season, Zhang has captained the team which is ranked No. 13 regionally and is seeded No. 1 in the upcoming conference playoffs.
Throughout her career, she has amassed a 59-6 singles record, including a 12-0 mark as a junior. Zhang currently holds the school record for career wins and has won seven Middle Atlantic Conference individual titles in both doubles and singles.
Not only has she been a force on the court, but in the classroom and the community as well. Zhang has a 3.75 GPA as a communications major. She has been on the Dean's List as well as an ITA All-American Scholar Athlete and has volunteered with the American Red Cross. She also had the rare opportunity to serve as an interpreter at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Senior Dennis Kimble (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) was named the Golf Scholar Athlete for the Middle Atlantic Conference on Thursday afternoon. The award goes to a senior with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher that has also excelled on the playing field.
Kimble is a four-year contributor for the FDU-Florham Golf team while holding a 3.79 cumulative GPA as an Economics/Finance major. He is serving as one of the team’s co-captains this year and will again be representing the Devils in the Freedom Conference Tournament.
Dennis is a tribute to hard work as he played in and helped FDU win the Freedom Conference as a freshman while also playing in the NCAA Tournament. As a sophomore and junior, he just missed being in FDU’s top five for two more conference championship teams but will return to the lineup this season as he tries to help the Devils to a fifth consecutive Freedom Conference Championship.
A three-time MAC All-Academic Honoree, Dennis is also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society, a member of the Phi Omega Epsilon Senior Honor Society, a member of the Phi Zeta Kappa Junior Honor Society, a member of the FDU Entrepreneur Society, and a 2009 member of the MAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Senior Justin Cuga (Newark, DE/Salesianum) was honored on Tuesday afternoon by the MAC Conference office being named the 2010 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field MAC Scholar-Athlete award winner.
The MAC Conference recognizes a senior student-athlete among each sport sponsored by the MAC each season. To be nominated you must be a senior and must have at least a 3.20 GPA or higher. Points are awarded to each nominee based on their cumulative GPA and their athletics excellence, while also factoring in the nominee’s involvement within the community. Cuga becomes the third Bulldog to earn the honor this season joining Andrew Ferretti (Collegeville, PA/Wilson) and of the Men’s Cross Country team and Kelly Magrann (Sinking Spring, PA/Holy Name) of the women’s basketball team.
Cuga is carrying a 3.92 cumulative grade point average into the final semester of his senior year at DeSales as a double major in computer science and mathematics. He has also been a steady member of both the cross country and track & field team over each of the past four seasons. Cuga is a seven-time member of the DeSales University Dean’s List and has earned the Academic Excellence award three times. He is a three-time member of both the Fall and Winter MAC Academic Honor Roll and will become a three-time member of the MAC Spring Academic Honor Roll later this month.
Athletically, Cuga has been a steady and solid contributor over his four years for head coach Al Weiner. Among his career highlights are finishing 25th overall at the MAC Cross Country Championships as a junior, taking home sixth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as a sophomore at the MAC Outdoor T&F Championships, and finishing eighth in the one mile run and steeplechase as a junior at the MAC Indoor and Outdoor T&F Championships.