Nearly 1700 America East Student-Athletes Named To Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll - AmericaEast.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ? A total of 1,616 student-athletes have been named to the 2006-07 America East Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll for earning grade point averages of 3.0 or higher during the winter and spring seasons. Included in this prestigious group are America East Scholar-Athletes Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J.) (Stony Brook women’s basketball), Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Rep.) (Vermont men’s basketball), Jessica Ortman (Williamsville, N.Y.) (Albany women’s indoor track & field), Rory Quiller (West Point, N.Y.) (Binghamton indoor & outdoor track & field), Lidija Breznikar (Kotlje, Slovenia) (Boston U. women’s swimming & diving), Brian Koizim (White Plains, N.Y.) (Binghamton men’s swimming & diving), Brendan Hitchcock (Laceyville, Pa.) (Binghamton baseball), Christy Leath (St. Charles, Mo.) (Boston U. softball), Mike Ammann (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) (Albany men’s lacrosse), Kate Fontana (East Syracuse, N.Y.) (Albany women’s lacrosse), Marisa Ryan (Farmington, Conn.) (Boston U. women’s outdoor track & field), A.J. Oleksak (Feeding Hills, Mass.) (Hartford men’s golf), Juliana Carrillo (Cali, Colombia) (Hartford women’s golf), Nihal Advani (Mumbai, India) (Stony Brook men’s tennis) and Comelia Carapcea (Constanta, Romania) (UMBC women’s tennis). Of that total, 756 student-athletes were named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, acknowledging grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher during the most recent athletic season. The honors were announced Monday (July 23).

A committee of athletic administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose an honoree in each of the winter and spring championship sports. Each honoree, named America East Scholar-Athlete, was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20.

Binghamton, Stony Brook and Vermont topped the list as each institution had 207 honorees from the winter and spring. New Hampshire (203) and Maine (195) rounded out the top five. Boston University (161) was sixth, UMBC (159) and Albany (159) were tied for seventh, while Hartford (118) closed out the nine-team list.

Stony Brook featured 108 student-athletes named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll to lead all institutions. Maine (107), Vermont (93), New Hampshire (90) and Binghamton (90) were others well-represented by student-athletes with grade-point averages at 3.5 or better.

Hitchcock, Klimes, Smith, Carrillo, Koizim, Breznikar, Quiller and Ryan are all repeat winners.

Smith, a unanimous choice for America East first-team, was named to the all-defensive and all-academic teams. The senior with a 3.55 GPA, helped lead the Seawolves to second-place in the regular season and was second in the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg). She was a four-time America East Academic Honor Roll member and repeats as the women’s basketball scholar athlete.

Klimes, a member of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team, was named to the America East All-Conference Third Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Academic Team this past season. He has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I Team two-straight years and help the Catamounts advance to the America East Championship title game for the fifth-straight season.

Ortman was named to the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field All-Academic squad. She captured her second-consecutive 1,500-meter championship and posted a 3.91 cumulative grade point average.

Becoming the first Binghamton Division I athlete to earn All-America honors twice in a career, Quiller finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championship and fourth nationally in the outdoor season. In addition, he was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team. He finished with a 3.65 GPA in the spring.

Breznikar was a Dean’s List student in seven out of eight semesters, most recently posting a 3.93 in the spring semester of 2007. A four-time member of America East’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Breznikar was also a two-time member of the America East All-Academic Team, while holding three school records in the pool.

Koizim won a pair of races and set a meet record in the 200 backstroke at the 2007 America East Championship, finishing in a time of 1:48.77, breaking the record by more than two seconds. The senior, who helped the Bearcats to a second-place finish, posted a 3.90 GPA in the spring semester.

Another repeat winner, Hitchcock was recently named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team. The America East Player of the Year and four-time conference all-star, led the Bearcats to a record-breaking campaign this spring. A two-time member of the All-Academic team, he posted a 3.57 GPA this spring.

Leath, the 2007 America East Player of the Year, guided the Terriers to the regular season title and top seed in the America East Championship. She registered a 3.53 GPA this spring and was an all-academic team selection.

A second-team all-conference selection and all-academic team honoree, Ammann posted a team-best 3.80 GPA for the spring semester. He helped guide the Great Danes to its second-consecutive America East title as the squad earned its first-ever NCAA tournament win.

Highly regarded as one of the top midfielders in the conference, Fontana became the first player in Albany lacrosse history to be chosen All-America East Conference four times, including three first-team selections. Fontana led the Great Danes to their first-ever appearance in the conference championship game in 2007 and recently received an ECAC Merit Medal as the school’s top senior female student-athlete.

Recently named the America East Woman of the Year, Ryan holds a 3.78 grade-point average and is on schedule to receive her M.D. in three. She won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2007 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championship. In addition, she was the 2006 America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Olesak, named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, posted a 3.68 GPA in economics and finance. He helped the Hawks to a team GPA of 3.47 in 2006-07, the highest in the program’s history and the highest among America East men’s golf teams for the second straight year. He finished as runner-up at the America East Championship, while helping the Hawks to the team title.

Carrillo, named to the America East All-Academic Team for women’s golf, led the Hawks in stroke average (83.0) and earned all-conference honors by finishing as the runner-up at the 2007 America East Championship. She was Hartford’s top finisher in seven of nine tournaments and racked up four top-five finishes. Carrillo is a three-time America East Academic Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.5+ GPA) selection. In 2005-06 she was also named America East Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete.

Advani helped lead the Seawolves advance to the America East Championship finals from the third singles position. A two-time member of the America East All-Academic team, he finished the spring semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

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Nearly 1700 America East Student-Athletes Named To Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll - AmericaEast.com