Student-Athletes Make the Grade on Conference Honor Rolls
09/01/2015
By Ed Brennen
When the UMass Lowell athletics program jumped to Division I in 2013, some growing pains were to be expected. One arena where the River Hawks are dominating, however, is in the classroom.
The university placed 175 student-athletes on the 2014-15 America East Winter/Spring Honor Roll, the most for any of the conference's nine member institutions. Sixteen hockey players, meanwhile, were named to the 2014-15 Hockey East All-Academic Team, third most in the 10-team conference.
Overall, the cumulative student-athlete GPA for the spring semester was 3.149, up slightly from the fall semester’s 3.114. What’s more, 107 of the university’s 430 student-athletes currently have cumulative GPAs of 3.5 or higher.
According to Athletic Director Dana Skinner, the River Hawks’ continued academic excellence is even more impressive given the increased demands placed on Division I athletes, from longer road trips to higher strength and conditioning expectations.
“It’s been a challenge for the students academically, and that’s why we’re so proud of what they’ve done,” says Skinner, who is beginning his 21st year as athletic director. “There is an intensity to Division I that just doesn’t exist in Division II or III. There’s pressure to perform, and it can wear on student-athletes. But they are balancing the academic and athletic activities so well.”
Skinner attributes the success to the quality of students recruited by the program’s 16 coaches, as well as the university’s commitment to providing them with best academic resources. In the past two years, the university has opened a new (http://www.uml.edu/News/stories/2014/Student-Athlete-Academic-Center.aspx) student-athlete academic center, hired three full-time academic professionals and increased tutoring staff.
"When we made the decision to elevate to Division I, it was primarily to affiliate with our academic and aspirant peer institutions. It was a decision based on academics, as well as athletics,” Skinner says. “We’ve challenged the student-athletes to perform at a higher level and they’ve certainly done that.”
Based on percentage, softball led all River Hawk teams with 87.5 percent (21-of-24) of its roster making the America East Honor Roll.
“This just shows the type of commitment the athletic department has to academics as well as athletics,” says softball coach (http://goriverhawks.com/staff.aspx?staff=227) Danielle Henderson. “Our players’ academics are very important to them and, considering all of the travel that we endured last season, they found a way to get it done in the classroom.”
Lacrosse was the most decorated men's team, meanwhile, with 74.2 percent (23-of-31) being honored.
“We are committed to perennially having the highest GPA amongst our lacrosse peers in the America East Conference,” says men’s lacrosse coach Ed Stephenson. “We are building a culture of academic excellence.”
Women's soccer had the highest GPA of all teams with a 3.45 GPA, while hockey had the highest GPA among men’s teams with a 3.31.
Individually, former River Hawks hockey captain Zack Kamrass ’15 was named a Distinguished Scholar by Hockey East while rising sophomore Tyler Mueller was honored as an All-Academic All Star. Rising senior Michael Colantone made his third appearance on the All-Academic Team, while rising senior Adam Chapie and rising junior Michael Kapla each earned their second nods.
“Our program is extremely pleased to have 16 All-Academic team selections in Hockey East,” says head coach Norm Bazin, whose team was already playing at the Division I level when the athletic program made the move two years ago. “UMass Lowell has established a great academic reputation and these young men are a reflection of that excellence in the classroom.”
The International Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), meanwhile, named rising senior Laura Kender to its 2015 IWLCA/Zag Sports Division I Academic Honor Roll. Kender, a plastics engineering major, was one of just 256 student-athletes from 80 institutions to receive the honor.