April 9, 2010
Juniors Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) and Brianne Bozzella (Wilmington, MA) and senior Luke Wallace (Yorktown Heights, NY) led 17 of their peers who received National Student-Athlete Day honors Friday at UMass Lowell's Alumni Library.
The annual ceremony honored UMass Lowell student-athletes who earned the top grade point averages on each team for the fall 2009 semester, along with the top freshman male and female. Student-athletes were accompanied by both their coaches as well as their professors of choice.
The honors were the second in as many years for MacDonald and Bozzella while Wallace received the honor in 2008. MacDonald is enjoying a stellar year which has seen him win a slew of athletic and academic plaudits, including All-American honors during the cross country season as well as the indoor season in the mile and distance medley relay.
A mathematics major who earned a 3.50 grade point average last fall, MacDonald was named to both the Northeast-10 Conference and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) all-academic teams.
More impressive, he was the recipient of the 2009 NE-10 Scholar Athlete Sport Excellence Award for cross country.
Bozzella also enjoyed her best season to date as she helped lead the women's soccer team to a 12-5-4 record (10-3-1 in the NE-10) with six goals and four assists. The academic honor is her latest accolade of the season as she was also named to the NE-10 Women's Soccer All-Academic Team as well as the 2009 NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
An exercise physiology major, Bozzella was one of four student-athletes to earn a 4.0 grade point average last fall.
Wallace is currently hitting .322 and slugging a team-high .574 with 15 RBI and five home runs for the baseball team, which is currently 19-12 overall (7-6 NE-10) entering the weekend. A psychology major, Wallace earned a 3.70 average in the fall.
Bozzella was one of two women's soccer players honored. Freshman Gia O'Connor (Dracut, MA), an accounting major with a 3.7, received top freshman female honors while Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, BC) of the hockey team, with a 3.80 average in liberal arts, received top freshman male honors.
O'Connor appeared in 11 matches this fall for the River Hawks before a knee injury curtailed her season. Ickert played in 14 games for the hockey team (19-16-4, 12-11-4 Hockey East) and registered three assists and a plus-3 rating.
Ickert was one of two hockey players cited as junior Scott Campbell (Navan, ONT) earned a team-best 3.80 average for the fall. Campbell also excelled on the ice as he compiled 16 goals and 18 assists (34 points), good for a tie for 18th among Hockey East Leaders.
Along with Bozzella, juniors Lyra Clark (Nashua, NH) and Julia Funaro (Lowell, MA) and senior Katrina Lutkus (Lowell, MA) of the cross country and track and field teams earned 4.0 averages.
A biology major, Clark helped the cross country team to runner-up performances at both the NE-10 and NCAA East Region championships in November, as well as the team's seventh straight trip to the NCAA Championship where they placed 23rd.
Additionally, Clark was named to both the NE-10 and East Region all-star teams as well as the NE-10 and USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country teams.
A psychology major, Funaro recently placed 13th in a field of 35 in the discus at the Fitchburg Jim Sheehan Invitational last weekend with a throw of 100 feet, 6.0 inches. An education major, Lutkus has enjoyed a stellar year, highlighted by a third-place result in the 55 meter dash at the NE-10 indoor championship, at which the River Hawks earned their second straight team title.
Receiving the honor for the men's track and field team was sophomore Eric Peary (Woburn, MA), an accounting major who earned a 3.80 average last fall. A middle distance runner, Peary was also named to the 2009 Fall NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, released in January.
Representing the basketball teams were senior Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, MA), an education major with a 3.70 last fall; and freshman Peter Steere (Lancaster, MA), a liberal arts major with a 3.60.
Lajoie, who was a four-year softball standout (2006-09) at UMass Lowell before joining the basketball team for the 2009-10 season, saw action in six games for the women (16-11, 12-10 NE-10). Steere appeared in 10 games as the River Hawks captured the NE- 10 Tournament Championship and moved on to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in 10 years.
Capping the list of student-athlete winners were senior Stephanie Marshall (Medway, MA), a member of the volleyball team; junior Amy Carbon (Bellingham, MA) of the field hockey team and sophomore Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, MA) of the softball team; along with men's soccer goalkeeper Ryan Richards (Holden, MA), a senior, and junior Anthony Ullo (Leominster, MA) of the golf team.
A nutrition major, Marshall earned a 3.80 average while helping the volleyball team (22-10, 11-4 NE-10) to its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance. She was limited to five matches, however, due to an injury.
A goalkeeper, Carbon backstopped UMass Lowell (18-5, 7-3 NE-10) to the NCAA Championship game for the third straight year. Along the way, she registered a 1.63 goals against average and one shutout in 24 appearances (16 starts).
The honor is the latest for Carbon, who was also named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II National Academic Squad and the NE-10 All-Academic Team. A finance major, Carbon earned a 3.8 last fall.
A nursing major with a 3.7, Panarelli was an impact player on the softball team (12- 14, 5-3 NE-10) as a freshman and has maintained her pace with a .324 average this season.
Richards, with a 3.80 in chemistry, has received a slew of academic plaudits over his career, including a place on the NE-10 All-Academic Team for the third straight year last fall. Despite the men's soccer team's struggles (4-12, 3-10 NE-10), Richards was named to the NE-10 All-Conference Third Team.
A management major with a 3.5 last term, Ullo has helped the golf team to a resurgence this spring as the River Hawks are currently ranked No. 7 in the NCAA East Region poll. Ullo highlighted the spring with a 77 at the Goldey-Beacom Invitational on Mar. 30.
2010 National Student-Athlete Day Recipients
Sport, Student-Athlete (Hometown), Major(s), Fall GPA
*Baseball, Luke Wallace (Sr., Yorktown Heights, NY), Psychology, 3.70
Women's Basketball, Stacey Lajoie (Sr., Gardner, MA), Education, 3.70
Men's Basketball, Peter Steere (Fr., Lancaster, MA), Liberal Arts, 3.60
Women's Cross Country, Lyra Clark (Jr., Nashua, NH), Biology, 4.00
*Men's Cross Country, Angus MacDonald, (Jr., Methuen, MA), Mathematics, 3.50
Field Hockey, Amy Carbon (Jr., Bellingham, MA), Management/Finance, 3.80
Golf, Anthony Ullo (Jr., Leominster, MA), Management, 3.50
Ice Hockey, Scott Campbell (Jr., Navan, ONT), Management, 3.80
Men's Soccer, Ryan Richards (Sr., Holden, MA), Chemistry, 3.80
*Women's Soccer, Brianne Bozzella (Jr., Wilmington, MA) Exercise Physiology 4.00
Softball, Lindsi Panarelli (So., Shrewsbury, MA), Health, 3.70
Women's Track & Field, Julia Funaro (So., Lowell, MA), Psychology 4.00; Katrina Lutkus (Sr., Lowell, MA) Education 4.00
Men's Track & Field, Eric Peary (So., Woburn, MA), Accounting, 3.80
Volleyball, Stephanie Marshall (Sr., Medway, MA), Nutrition, 3.80
*Indicates previous National Student-Athlete Day honors
Top Freshmen Student-Athletes
Student-Athlete (Hometown) Sport Major GPA
Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, BC) Ice Hockey Liberal Arts 3.80
Gia O'Connor (Dracut, MA) Women's Soccer Exercise Physiology 3.70
