452 Winter Student-Athletes Receive Honors

HADLEY, Mass. - The New England Small College Athletic Conference announced its 2008-09 Winter All-Academic selections on Friday, with 452 student-athletes that participated in a winter sport earning All-Academic recognition. To be honored, a student-athlete must have reached junior academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. A transfer student must have completed one year of study at the institution.

Nearly a third of the 452 Winter All-Academic honorees also earned All-Academic accolades a year ago, as 150 student-athletes returned from the 2008 squad. A total of 30 student-athletes garnered both All-Academic and All-Conference, while 33 individuals earned both All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship honors. Six players received recognition on all three teams. Bowdoin junior David Funk (Short Hills, N.J.), Colby junior Samantha Smith (Locust Valley, N.Y.), the Trinity tandem of senior Gustav Detter (Malmoe, Sweden) and junior Jo-Ann Jee (Kuching, Malaysia), and Williams junior Ethan Buchsbaum (Princeton, N.J.), all of whom are squash student-athletes. They were joined by Tufts women’s swimming and diving senior Katie Swett (Ridgefield, Conn.).

Notable members of the Winter All-Academic team were seniors Jeff Landers (Hanover, Mass.) and Kai Robinson (Vashon, Wash.) of Amherst and Kim Moynihan (West Hartford, Conn.) of Tufts. Landers was named the 2009 NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Player of the Year last week, as he helped his team capture the NESCAC title for the first time in program history this season. Landers is in the midst a career season on the ice for the Lord Jeffs, shattering his previous mark of 22 points over the last two winters with a personal-best nine goals and 32 assists for a team-leading 41 points, just three points shy of 100 over his tenure at Amherst. It may come as little surprise that Landers is at or near the top of multiple statistical categories in the league this season. Landers’ 41 points lead all conference blue liners and are now tops among all skaters, while his 32 helpers hold the top spot in assists. An All-Academic honoree a year ago, Landers and company won their first NCAA Tournament game in school history with a 4-1 victory over Babson on Wednesday evening.

Robinson repeated as the Diver of the Meet at this year’s NESCAC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships after winning the 1-meter and 3-meter Diving events for the second year in a row. Robinson set the conference meet record in the 3-meter event last winter and came within a point of shattering the 1-meter mark during this year’s championship.

Moynihan, who also earned All-Academic honors last year, earned NESCAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year as she was assigned to opponents’ top players throughout 2008-09 and still managed to average almost 10 points per game. Tufts reached the NCAA Tournament this season for the second time in as many years.

Founded in 1971, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) consists of 11 liberal arts colleges and has consistently reflected its commitment to the values of athletics and academic achievement. The member colleges of the conference are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and Williams College. For more information on the NESCAC, visit www.nescac.com.

Amherst  |  Bates  |  Bowdoin  |  Colby  |  Connecticut College  |  Hamilton 
  Middlebury  |  Trinity  |  Tufts  |  Wesleyan  |  Williams