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Date: May 18, 2004
Contact: Bill Sodoma
Colby athletes on NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team
WATERVILLE, Maine --
Three lacrosse players, two crew members, two outdoor track and field athletes, two tennis players and one softball player made up the 10 Colby College student-athletes honored as 2004 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Spring All-Academic Team selections.
The 10 Colby athletes honored were: senior women's lacrosse player Rebecca Avrutin (Rye, N.Y.), sophomore softball player Kara Fagan (Arlington, Va.), sophomore men's track and field athlete Jason Foster (Moretown, Vt.), junior women's tennis player Sara Hughes (South Burlington, Vt.), junior men's tennis player Marc Kassin (Williamstown, Mass.), senior women's outdoor track and field athlete Caroline Minkoff (Haddonfield, N.J.), senior women's crew member Laura Mistretta (New York, N.Y.), senior men's lacrosse player Nick Owens (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), senior men's lacrosse player Ryan Tyler (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and junior men's crew member Stephen Whelpley (Mequon, Wisc.).
Owens made the spring all-academic team for the third straight year. Hughes made the team for the second straight year, while Minkoff was on the winter team for indoor track. Each student-athlete honored must be a starter or key reserve on a varsity sport and have a grade point average of at least 3.35.
Avrutin, a defensive midfielder, had four goals for the women's lacrosse team in the 2004 season. She finished her career with 14 goals and four assists for 18 points, 67 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. Avrutin helped the Mules to a 40-23 record in her four years.
Fagan worked her way into the starting lineup as catcher and started 24 of the 28 games in which she played. Fagan batted .254, was 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts, was second on the team in walks with eight and committed just three errors in 114 chances. Fagan helped the Mules to an 18-11-1 season in 2004.
Foster won the Maine State championship in the discus and was fourth in the hammer throw for the men's outdoor track and field team. He also placed fourth at the NESCAC meet in the hammer throw and seventh in the discus. Foster made the top 15 as a sophomore in the Open New England competition (Division I and II athletes in the meet) in the hammer and discus.
Hughes made it to the NCAA Division III Championships and fell in the second round of singles play. She finished the season at 18-6 overall and was 11-3 in singles play. Hughes has a 50-19 record over the past two seasons. She has earned NESCAC All-Conference honors the past two years and was Co-NESCAC Player of the Year and earned All-America honors in doubles play in 2003.
Kassin earned the number one singles spot on the men's tennis team and finished with nine overall victories this past season. Kassin had five singles wins this year and has an 11-10 record in doubles play over the past two seasons.
Minkoff, who finished ninth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, has had a solid spring season. She earned All-NESCAC honors after taking third in the hammer throw at the league meet. Minkoff, a captain for the team, also placed third in the hammer at the ECAC meet in a personal best 154-10 and was fourth in the event at the New England Division III meet.
Mistretta, a co-captain of the women's crew, won Colby's Patty Valavanis Smith Trophy for a senior woman student-athlete who has demonstrated the qualities of academic and athletic excellence and personal leadership and sportsmanship that characterized Patty Valavanis's career at Colby. Mistretta was in the varsity 8 boat which crossed the finish line first at the NCAA meet and helped the Mules win the 2003 national championship.
Owens led the men's lacrosse team the past three years in ground balls. He had 62 ground balls for this year's 8-6 squad. Owens was a long-stick midfielder for the Mules during his sophomore and senior years and played defense during his junior season.
Tyler was a tri-captain this season and had three goals, one assist and 33 ground balls from his defensive midfield position. Tyler had three assists and 35 ground balls during his junior season.
Whelpley was a key member of the Colby varsity 8 men's crew this past season. He helped the Mules win the men's varsity 8 race on the way to winning the Coby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) President's Cup.
