University of Massachusets Athletics
Jacovina, Spiess Named UMass Spring Scholar-Athletes
May 16, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
May 16, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. - Seniors Brian Jacovina of men's lacrosse and Michele Spiess of women's tennis have been named the UMass Male and Female Spring Scholar-Athletes. They were honored at the Weekly Sports Luncheon on Wednesday. Jacovina, a team captain and Preseason All-American, has piled up honors in his four years at UMass while maintaining a 3.426 in Sport Management. This marks the second consecutive year Spiess has won the award. She concluded her career on top of the UMass women's tennis all-time singles wins list. She sports a 3.828 GPA in Hotel and Tourism Management.
This season, Spiess was named the UMass Female Athlete of the Year. She was named First-Team All-Conference, Academic All-Conference, and Student Athlete of the Year in the Atlantic 10. She broke the school record for singles victories on April 11 with her 64th victory over Quinnipiac. She also finishes her career in third place on the all-time doubles list.
Spiess broke the record in only three seasons. She transferred to UMass from Louisville after freshman year. She has enjoyed unparalleled success, winning nearly 80% of her singles matches and 72% of her doubles matches.
Spiess was presented with the award by Rod Warnick, Professor in the Hospitality & Tourism Management department, and Head Coach Judy Dixon.
Brian Jacovina finished his career at UMass on top. The two-way midfielder led the Minutemen with 18 assists on the team, which also stood fourth best in the ECAC. He was named All-New England First Team for the third time. Jacovina was also named to the All-New England Scholar-Athlete Team.
In his time at UMass, Jacovina has led the team to the program's first-ever national semifinal birth, before falling in the title game to Virginia. The Minutemen also beat Syracuse three times, twice in 2005. In the process, they ended Syracuse's run of 22-straight semifinal appearances. This season, he helped lead the Minutemen to a thrilling 9-7 victory on Senior Day, ending Syracuse' run of 24-straight NCAA appearances and 31-straight winning seasons.
Jacovina was presented with the award by Todd Crosset, Associate Professor in the Sport Management Department, and Head Coach Greg Cannella.