SPRINGFIELD, Mass., March 2, 2006 – In an announcement made by the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) late Wednesday afternoon (Mar. 1), 12 Springfield College student-athletes from the 2005-06 winter seasons have garnered positions on the 2006 NEWMAC All-Academic Teams, in women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.

The women’s swimming and diving team landed an impressive six athletes from its team, in senior Alicia Hart (West Hartford, Conn.), junior Natasha Skowronski (Adams, Mass.), and sophomores Tristen Gentile (Columbia, Md.), Melissa Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.), Kelley Ockerbloom (South Yarmouth, Mass.), and Shannon O’Neill (Newburgh, N.Y.). Hart, a rehab and disability studies major at SC, has a 3.781 grade-point-average (GPA). Skowronski has compiled a 3.784 GPA as a math and computer technology major on campus, whereas Gentile boasts a 3.707 GPA as a general studies student. A physical therapy major, Nelson has accumulated a 3.689 GPA; Ockerbloom has recorded a 3.587 grade-point-average as an english major; and O’Neill, an english major at SC, has a 3.646 GPA.

The men’s swimming and diving team at SC had four members of its squad on the All-Academic Team, in seniors Ross Craig (Brookfield, Conn.), Dan Moran (Wilbraham, Mass.), and Mike Shaw (Westfield, Mass.), and sophomore Justin Zook (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Craig and Shaw are both physical therapy majors with cumulative GPA’s of 3.500 and 3.862, respectively, as Moran is a history major with a 3.567 GPA and Zook is a sports management major with a 3.578 grade-point-average.

SC’s women’s basketball team landed two players in the NEWMAC report, in senior Courtney Parvin (Brackney, Pa.) and junior Caitlyn Cuthbertson (Assonet, Mass.). Parvin has accumulated a 3.720 GPA as a physical therapy major, and junior Caitlyn Cuthbertson, also a physical therapist student, currently garners a 3.580 grade-point-average.

Honorees of the NEWMAC All-Academic Teams must have met the following criteria to be eligible: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or 4.35 on a 5.0 scale after the 2005 fall semester, achieved second year academic status at her institution, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire season.

published: 03/02/2006