CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Six student-athletes who demonstrated excellence both on the field and in the classroom during the Fall 2010 semester were named America East Scholar-Athletes by the conference office on Thursday. The six Scholar-Athletes include Binghamton University’s Chris Gaube (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) and Stony Brook University’s Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate) in men’s and women’s cross country, University of New Hampshire’s Colin O’Donnell (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Boston University’s Jessica Luscinski (Bedford, N.H./Trinity) in men’s and women’s soccer, University at Albany’s Kristi Troch (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) in field hockey and Binghamton University volleyball student-athlete Michelle McDonough (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew).
The Scholar-Athletes were members of teams in the six championship sports which America East sponsored in the fall season including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball. Member institutions of America East Conference for the 2010 fall 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. Fairfield University was an associate member in the sport of field hockey, while Providence College competed as an associate member in volleyball.
A committee of athletic administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose an honoree in each of the six fall championship sports. Each America East Scholar-Athlete was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20.
Gaube, a graduate student with a 3.50 GPA, completed his undergraduate work in English with a 3.74 GPA and has been named to the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll every semester of his career. A three-time member of the All-Academic Cross Country Team, the Bearcat has recorded one of the top-10 individual times at each of the last three America East Cross Country Championships to earn all-conference recognition. Gaube has served as team captain, including captain of the 2009 America East Championship squad. He placed sixth at the 2010 meet to help lead his team to a second-place finish.
Van Dalen was an All-American this fall, placing sixth at the NCAA Championship, while winning the America East Championship and the NCAA Regional meets. A senior sociology major and child and family studies minor carrying a 3.75 GPA, Van Dalen received the SUNY Chancellor’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and earned a spot on the America East All-Academic Team for the third straight fall. While the USTFCCCA tabbed her the Northeast Region Women’s Athlete of the Year, Van Dalen has also been honored as a member of the Stony Brook University Society of Distinguished Scholar-Athletes and a member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times.
O’Donnell, the only repeat winner of the Scholar-Athlete Award this fall, is a senior occupational therapy major with a 3.36 cumulative GPA. He is the two-time America East Goalkeeper of the Year who led the Wildcats to a 9-5-6 record and a trip to the conference championship game in 2010. O’Donnell was a member of the All-Tournament Team after becoming the first goalkeeper to record three shutouts in the America East Championship. He was second in the nation with a 0.43 goals-against average. The national coaches’ association selected O’Donnell as a First-Team Scholar All-American, one of just 16 honorees nationwide, and after winning the America East men’s soccer Scholar-Athlete Award in 2009, O’Donnell earned America East All-Academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition in 2010.
Luscinski, who is a junior with a 3.61 GPA majoring in health sciences, received the America East Striker of the Year Award in 2010. She received her second straight nod on the all-conference first team after earning all-rookie team status in 2008. Currently ranked eighth all-time in program history with 56 career goals, Luscinski led the Terriers to the 2010 America East Championship and a 16-6 overall record. She has appeared on the America East Honor Roll every fall of her career, including the Commissioner’s Honor Roll the last two years, and earned a spot on the 2010 All-Academic Team.
Troch, a human biology major with a 3.67 GPA, led the nation in save percentage en route to being named the America East Goalkeeper of the Year. She led the Great Danes to a national ranking, the 2010 America East Championship and a win in the NCAA play-in game after pacing the conference with a 1.14 goals-against average and a .818 save percentage. Just a sophomore, Troch has been named to the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice already and received America East All-Academic Team recognition.
McDonough capped off her stellar career with her third-straight first-team all-conference honor and finished with 1,469 kills and 1,078 digs for her career. She led America East in both kills and points per set in 2010 and helped the Bearcats advance to the America East Championship for the fourth time in as many years. The outsider hitter graduated in three years with a 3.41 cumulative GPA and is currently pursuing a masters degree in mathematics and secondary education in which she holds a 3.58 graduate GPA. McDonough was named a SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete, and is only the second volleyball player to be named to the America East All-Academic Team for three straight years. America East Conference: Developing Champions In Academics, Athletics, and Leadership