June 25, 2009

Eight UMass Lowell student-athletes – including six who earned repeat honors – were named to the Northeast-10 Conference Winter and Spring All-Academic Teams, the Conference announced Thursday.

Three athletes – seniors Sarah Brassard (Oxford, MA), Sharikka Finley-Moise (Lexington, MA) and Jason DeDonato (Nashua, NH), members of the track and field teams – earned the honors for the third time in their careers.

Earning their second straight plaudits were senior Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, MA) of the softball team; and juniors Jacqui Barrett (Woburn, MA) and Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) of the track and field team.

Sophomores Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) and Lauren Raimondi (East Longmeadow, MA), also track and field standouts, earned the honor for the first time.

The NE-10 All-Academic Teams are made up of student-athletes, sophomores and older, who maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and standout on the field of play. The teams are selected by the NE-10 sports information directors.

The honor is the latest of many and second in as many days for Brassard, who was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-Academic District 1 Team Wednesday.

A 2009 graduate, Brassard maintained a 3.79 cumulative grade point average. The latest academic plaudit was her fourth this year as she also garnered similar honors from the NE-10 and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for her stellar cross country season.

Brassard highlighted the outdoor track and field season by qualifying for the NCAA Championship in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, placing 11th in 11:37.75. She also earned All-American honors at the NCAA indoors, helping the distance medley relay team to sixth place in 11:57.90.

Similarly, DeDonato earned his third academic honor of the year, after claiming spots on both the NE-10 and USTFCCCA cross country academic teams. He highlighted the outdoor season with a 23rd-place effort (fifth among Division II runners) in the 10,000 meters (32:17.64) at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational and a fifth-place showing in the two-mile at UMass Lowell’s George Davis Invitational.

DeDonato maintained a 3.40 in health education.

Finley-Moise, a senior academically and a junior eligibility-wise, also makes her third straight appearance on the track and field all-academic team. A psychology major, she maintains a 3.86 cumulative average in psychology.

Finley-Moise turned in a host of stellar results this season, including a fourth-place showing (first among Division II-III teams) in the 4X100 meter relay (48.84 seconds) at Princeton as well as a second-place finish in the 4X100 at the NE-10 Championship (48.42).

Catarius and Barrett each moved on to the NCAA Championship in the outdoor season. Seeded 10th, Catarius earned All-American honors twice this year: in the outdoor 800 meters, placing seventh in 2:15.70; and the indoor distance medley relay (sixth, 11:57.90).

She also earned All-New England honors in the 800 (eighth, 2:16.27) and the 4X400 meter relay (fifth, 3:52.63), and was named the NE-10 Indoor Championship Most Valuable Athlete after she captured the 500 meters and 4X400 meter relay.

An exercise physiology major, Catarius sports a 3.39 in the classroom

A shot putter, Barrett also enjoyed a special year highlighted by her qualification in the NCAA championship at which she placed 15th with a throw of 43’ 5.0’’. Previously, Barrett won the NE-10 title with a throw of 47’ 4.25’’ and copped All-New England honors twice by placing fourth indoors (45’ 2.5’’) and third outdoors (44’ 10.75’’).

Barrett majors in liberal arts and has maintained a 3.51 average.

Raimondi and MacDonald each enjoyed stellar sophomore years. Raimondi highlighted the year by capturing the New England Championship in the high jump (5’ 4.5’’) as well as All-New England honors in the 100 meter hurdles (2nd, 14.37) and the indoor 55 meter hurdles (fourth, 8.41).

Raimondi advanced to the NCAA Championship in the high jump, placing in a tie for 13th (5’ 4.5’’). Earlier in the year, she captured four NE-10 titles: the indoor and outdoor high jump, outdoor 100 meter hurdles and 4X400 meter relay.

Majoring in fine arts/graphic design, Raimondi currently has a 3.69 average.

MacDonald highlighted the year by earning All-American honors in the indoor distance medley relay at the NCAA Championship (eighth, 10.19.88), in which he ran the mile in 4:22. He also won the NE-10 title in the indoor 1,000 meters (2:30.09) as well as All-New England honors in the indoor mile (fourth, 4:11.03) and the 4X800 meter relay (fifth, 7:44.52).

MacDonald has achieved a 3.37 average in mathematics.

For Lajoie, the plaudit caps a magnificent career, in which she etched her name in many places in the softball record books, namely games played (208) and home runs (21) in a career.

Despite the softball team’s struggles this season, Lajoie was named to the NE-10 All-Conference Team for the fourth straight year and ranked among NE-10 leaders in several categories: runs (third, 34), stolen bases (sixth, 16/17) on base percentage (10th, .430) and batting (13th, .355).

A liberal arts major, Lajoie graduated with a 3.39 average.