Medaille College's Amanda Ruszczyk and Pitt-Bradford's Brody Wood have been selected as the recipients of the 2017 AMCC Faculty Athletics Representatives Award.  Ruszczyk and Wood were chosen from among 18 outstanding student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team.

Ruszczyk, who majored in education, graduated in May with a 3.94 GPA.  She was a member of the Dean's List all four years, and earned academic all-conference distinction in both the AMCC and NEAC.  A two-sport athlete, Ruszczyk captained both the volleyball and lacrosse teams.  She was a member of the All-Sportsmanship Team in volleyball and was voted the AMCC Offensive Player of the Year in lacrosse, where she ranked first in the league in goal scoring (60) and led the Mavericks to the AMCC championship.  Outside of athletics, Ruszczyk served as an upperclass senator in student government, was a peer mentor in the Medaille Pathways Program, and was a supplemental instructor in the academic support center.

Wood is a biology major who just completed his junior year with a 3.992 GPA.  He has been on the Dean's List all three years and was the recipient of the UPB Award for Academic Excellence both his junior and sophomore years.  He is also a three-time member of the AMCC academic all-conference team.  Playing first base for the Panthers' baseball team, Wood compiled a .304 batting average this past season with a team-best .982 fielding percentage.  He is a SAAC representative, a resident assistant, and volunteers for the Special Olympics.

FEMALE BEST OF THE REST: D'Youville SR basketball player Ali Cochrane graduated in three years as an Exercise and Sports Studies major/Management minor with a 3.988 GPA, she earned the Student Affairs Award of Dinstinction, was named to the Dean's List every semester, was a member of the AMCC Academic All-Conference Team and was a Peak Performer each year, while also being inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society...Hilbert SR cross country runner Kelly Mergenhagen was a Forensic Science/Crime Scene Investigation major with a 3.945 GPA, awarded the 2017 McGrath Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence, was a four year member of the AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, while finishing fifth at the AMCC championship meet... La Roche SR softball player Kara Sainato was a Mathematics major/Computer Science minor with a 3.757 GPA, she was named to the Dean's List every semester, four-time member of the AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, and was a three-time AMCC all-conference performer in softball...Mount Aloysius SR volleyball player Katie Reed was a Business Administration major with a 3.97 GPA, she was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, four-time member of the AMCC All-Academic Team, Team Peak Performer, member of Chi Alpha Sigma and Delta Epsilom Sigma Honor Society, was awarded the MAC Coaches Award in 2015-16, and also volunteered with Special Olympics, Night to Shine, and traveled to Honduras for a service trip with an orphanage...Penn St.-Altoona SR women's volleyball player Emily Baker was a Biology major with a 3.60 GPA, was president of the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society, received the John E. Lennox Achievement Award for Excellence in Biology, ranks third all-time at PSA for digs and digs per set, while also volunteering as a home health aid, volunteers/shadows at Altoona Family Practics and UPMC Altoona, and is a research assistant in the Neurobiology labratory...Penn St.-Behrend SR track and cross country runner Paige Allen was a Project and Supply Chain Management major with a 3.47 GPA, a recipient of the Faculty Athletic Award, member of the AMCC cross country all-conference team, a two-time ECAC champion, and a nine-time CSAC champion, while also being the SAAC President for two years, leading over 12 community service projects during her career, and also being a member of the top leadership organization on campus (Lion's Pride)...Pitt-Bradford SR women's basketball player Ali Rinfrette is a Nursing major/Exercise Science minor with a 3.802 GPA, she received the Academic Excellence Award as both a sophomore and junior, a three-time recipient of the scholar-athlete award, and three-time member of the AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, while also being named the 2017 AMCC WBB Player of the Year and leading the conference in several categories. Rinfrette also served as a volunteer for numerous community service and outreach projects....Pitt-Greensburg SR women's basketball player Lyndy Baer graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.939 GPA in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Actuarial Sciences, was a member of Beta Beta Beta, the Biological Science Honor Society, and also a member of Chi Alpha Sigma. On the court, she averaged an AMCC-best 5.3 assists per game and set the school record for most assists in a single game (15), while dishing out the fourth-most assists in a single season (132) in UPG history.

MALE BEST OF THE REST: D'Youville JR men's basketball player Will VanAuken has a 4.0 GPA as an Exercise and Sports Studies/Doctor of Phyical Therapy major, is a member of Lambda Sigma Honor Society, two-time member of the AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, was the 2017 DYC Co-Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, and is a member of the DYC SAAC...Hilbert SR men's soccer player Daniel Pulaski was a Criminal Justice major with a 3.923 GPA, a three-year member of the AMCC All-Academic Team, member of Chi Alpha Sigma, and was the recipient of the 2017 McGrath Award for his academic and athletic success. On the soccer field, he was named his team's MVP this past season and was also a member of the AMCC All-Sportsmanship Team...La Roche JR Ben Mullins has a 3.936 GPA as a Finance and Management major, was the first-ever LRC student-athlete Academic All-American, three-time Academic All-Conference, member of Chi Alpha Sigma, recipient of LRC's prestigious Harry G. Austin Scholar-Athlete Award, and was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American. On the golf course, he is a three-time AMCC All-Conference selection, finished with the second-best scoring average in the AMCC (77.33) and placed third at the AMCC Championship, while also being a member of the LRC SAAC...Medaille SR men's volleyball player Sam Bloomberg was an Accounting major with a 3.85 GPA, member of Chi Alpha Sigma, two-time recipient of Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, three-time member of AMCC All-Academic Team and NEAC Scholar-Athlete, was named the 2016 NEAC Tournament MVP, a NEAC All-Conference selection, President of the Student Activities Board, and involved in numerous other clubs and organizations on campus...Mount Aloysius SR men's soccer and tennis player Ricky Abbs was a Business Administration major with a 3.84 GPA, was a member of Chi Alpha Sigma and a four-time member of the AMCC All-Academic Team, was named the 2016-17 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while being a three-year starter for the soccer team, was named to the 2016 all-tournament team and the 2015 all-sportsmanship team...Penn St.-Altoona SR men's volleyball player Jacob Byers received a 3.30 GPA in Marketing and Management, along with a minor in Entrepreneurship, was named PSA's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, three-time NEAC and AMCC Scholar-Athlete recipient, finished in first place in PSA's Business and Engineering Case Competition and third place in the Pechter Business Plan Competition, while also being involved in several organizations on campus. On the volleyball court, Byers was a four-year starter, team co-captain, and finished in the top-four all-time in school history in seven different categories...Penn St.-Behrend SR pole vaulter Luke Patton was a Biology major with a 3.79 GPA, was a member of the Biology Honors Society, a three-time ECAC pole vault champion, three-time NCAA qualifier, NCAA All-American, and a ten-time All-ECAC honoree...Pitt-Greensburg SR cross country runner Tyler Lookabaugh was a Psychology major who graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.955 GPA, member of Beta Beta Beta Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Psi Chi Honor Society, and Chi Alpha Sigma, served as the cross country team captain, was President of the Resident Student Council, VP of the Health and Rehabilitation Science Club, Treasurer of Christian Fellowship Club, and was named the American Red Cross Member of the Year Award. 

 
2016-17 AMCC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM