June 18, 2008

CAPE COD, Mass. - UMass had four players named to the All-ECAC Academic Team for men's lacrosse in 2008. Junior attacker Tim Balise, who was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American was the only player with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the league. Balise was joined by sophomore midfielder Bobby Hayes, senior defenseman Sean Krygier and junior defenseman Brennan Mack.

ECAC Commissioner Rudy Keeling is pleased to announce that 35 student-athletes from the ECAC Lacrosse League have earned a spot on the prestigious 2008 All-ECAC Academic Team.

In order to be selected to the team, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA through at least four semesters of work at his current institution, be a significant contributor to his team and have participated in at least 50 pecent of the games (33 percent of the minutes for goalies).

St. John's University led the way with eight selections followed by Hobart with seven student-athletes named to the team. Rutgers had five players selected, and Fairfield, Georgetown and Massachusetts each had four picks. Loyola had two players honored and Penn State had one selection.

Individually, Tim Balise, a junior attackman from UMass who led the ECAC with 33 goals, also boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA. Gavin Buckley, the starting goalie for St. John's in their conference wins over Penn State and Fairfield, has a 3.83 GPA. Jeff Rommel, a midfielder from Rutgers, finished third on his team with 14 goals scored and boasts a 3.81 GPA.

First team All-ECAC defender Matt Scanlon, a senior at Fairfield, posted a 3.60 GPA to earn a spot on the All-Academic team, becoming the only player from the first team to also earn a spot on the All-Academic team. Balise was a second team All-ECAC pick.