CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ? Nine student-athletes that participated in spring sports for the 2007-08 academic year were named America East Scholar-Athletes on Tuesday afternoon. Albany’s Steve Ammann (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) and New Hampshire’s Michaela Hardy (Reading, Mass./Reading) earned the honor for men’s and women’s lacrosse, while Stony Brook’s Michael Stephan (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford) and Maine’s Ashley Waters (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) took home accolades in baseball and softball, respectively. Hartford’s Juliana Carrillo (Cali, Colombia /Colegio Bolivar) earned scholar-athlete recognition in golf for the third straight season, while Stony Brook’s Ilan Shvartz (Haifa, Israel/Ironi Tet) and UMBC’s Cornelia Carapcea (Constanta, Romania/ C.N. Mircea cel Batran) garnered recognition in men’s and women’s tennis. New Hampshire’s Jordan Horwitz (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) and Vermont’s Carmen Lagala (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) rounded out the scholar-athlete honorees, as the men’s and women’s track & field selections. Click here for the complete release in PDF format.
The Scholar-Athletes were members of teams in the nine championship sports which America East offered in the spring season including baseball, women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. Member institutions of America East Conference for the 2008 spring season included University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.
A committee of athletic administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose an honoree in each of the nine spring championship sports. Each America East Scholar-Athlete was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20.
Ammann, a midfielder with a 3.83 cumulative grade-point average, helped the Great Danes reach the title game of America East Men’s Lacrosse Championship for the seventh straight year. He ranked fourth among team leaders with 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists in 2008. A repeat selection as the men’s lacrosse scholar-athlete, Ammann earned second-team All-America East honors for the second consecutive season and was an All-Academic team selection. Ammann, an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large team selection, is also a member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Ammann, who received 2008 Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award for being the UAlbany male student-athlete with the highest GPA, graduated with a business administration degree from Albany.
Hardy, a junior midfielder for the Wildcats, led her team to the America East Women’s Lacrosse Championship title game and an at-large berth to the 2008 NCAA Championship. Hardy, a first-team All-America East selection, also earned third-team IWLCA All-America honors and second-team recognition from womenslacrosse.com. She ranked fourth in America East in goals per game (2.74) and third in caused turnovers per game (1.37). A member of the America East Academic Honor Roll, Hardy currently has a 3.28 GPA majoring in psychology.
A sophomore designated hitter, Stephan helped the Seawolves capture the 2008 America East Baseball Championship. A second-team all-conference selection, Stephan led America East with a .522 on-base percentage and was tied for second with 11 home runs. Overall, he batted .305, drove in 37 and scored 49 runs. He was an All-Academic team selection and named to the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Stephan, an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-District selection, has a 3.43 GPA majoring in history.
Waters, the America East Player of the Year in softball, became the first Black Bear to take home the honor since 2000. A junior second baseman with a 3.74 GPA, Waters ranked among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category, leading America East in hits (58), home runs (10) and total bases (101). Waters hit .352 during the 2008 campaign and hit at an even .400 clip against league foes. She was also an All-Academic team selection and earned All-District accolades from ESPN the Magazine and CoSIDA. A member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Waters is pursuing a degree in communications.
Carrillo, who concluded her career at Hartford with a 3.91 GPA majoring in economics and finance, is just the second Hartford student-athlete to earn scholar-athlete honors three straight years. A three-time all-conference selection, Carrillo shared the individual title at the 2008 America East Golf Championship, compiling a two-day total of 162. She was also runner-up at the 2007 championship. Carrillo, a two-time All-Academic team choice, is a member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Carapcea, a junior, was a third-team Academic All-America selection by ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA. She has been a second-team All-America East selection in both singles and doubles each of the past two seasons. Carapcea posted a 12-3 record at No. 4 singles this spring and won 30 total matches on the year en route to being chosen her team’s co-Most Valuable Athlete. Carapcea, who has a perfect 4.00 grade-point average in financial economics and information systems, was named to America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2006 and 2007 and has earned Dean’s List honors in all of her five semesters at UMBC.
Shvartz, a sophomore with a 3.75 GPA in business, was a first-team all-conference selection at No. 3 singles for the Seawolves. Shvartz, an America East All-Academic selection, went 14-7 this season and was a perfect 3-0 in matches against league foes. A member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Shvartz was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2007.
Horwitz, who graduated with a degree in management from UNH, was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the 2008 America East Outdoor Track & Field Championship. He won the 10,000-meter run and placed second in the 5,000 meters to earn the Coaches’ Award for most points earned at the championship. Horwitz also won the 5,000 at the 2008 America East Indoor Track & Field Championship and placed third in the 3,000. Horwitz has earned All-Academic recognition in cross country, as well as indoor and outdoor track & field. He is a four-time member of the America East Honor Roll.
Lagala, who graduated with a 3.55 GPA in English, won the 800-meter run at the America East Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships and garnered all-conference and all-academic accolades in both sports. An All-New England selection during both seasons, Lagala won the 1,000-meter run at the 2008 New England Indoor Track & Field Championship. A member of the league’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Lagala was named the America East Scholar-Athlete for the indoor season and was one of 10 nominees for the conference’s Woman of the Year Award. She is the first female track student-athlete to earn scholar-athlete during both seasons since the 2002-03 academic year.
All 20 Scholar-Athletes from the 2007-08 year are eligible for the 2008 America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which will be announced on Thursday, August 14. One male winner and one female winner will be chosen by the same committee that selected the individual sports scholar-athletes.