MacLean, DeSantis Tabbed UMass Fall Scholar-Athletes

AMHERST, Mass. – Senior cross country runner Heather MacLean and senior men's soccer midfielder Alex DeSantis have been named the 2017 UMass Sports Luncheon Fall Scholar-Athletes as announced by the committee on Wednesday at their weekly event. The award recognizes the student-athletes for both their athletic and academic accomplishments during the fall semester.

MacLean (Peabody, Mass.) capped her final cross country season at UMass by becoming the first women's cross country All-American in program history as a result of finishing 26^th at the NCAA Championships. The 2017 campaign also saw her win her second straight Atlantic 10 individual cross country title and capture the individual title at the 2017 New England Championships. MacLean became the fifth NCAA qualifier in program history by virtue of her fifth-place finish at the Northeast Regional Championships and garnered All-Region recognition. For her performance at the New England meet,

MacLean was tabbed the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for women's Division I cross country for the second time in her career. In her other two 2017 races, MacLean opened the season with a victory at the Minuteman Invitational and took seventh at the prestigious Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. She earned her fifth Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team nod of her career, as well (third for cross country).

DeSantis (Belchertown, Mass.) was named the UMass Fall Male Scholar-Athlete after a season where he earned both Atlantic 10 First-Team All-Conference and All-Academic honors after helping the Minutemen win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. DeSantis was also named CoSIDA Academic All-District and ECAC First-Team after finishing his senior campaign ranked second on the team in goals with nine, assists with six and points with 24.

During his four-year career at UMass, DeSantis appeared in 74 games while accumulating 39 points to go along with 13 goals and 13 assists. The Belchertown, Massachusetts native finished his career in the top-10 in program history in minutes, assists and game-winning goals.

Past Award Winners
Spring 2017 - Kelsey Crawford (Women's Outdoor Track), Paolo Tavares (Men's Outdoor Track)
Winter 2017 - Emma Roush (Women's Swimming and Diving), Cory Thomas (Men's Indoor Track)
Fall 2016 - Heather MacLean (Women's Cross Country), Fabian Goeller (Football)
Spring 2016 - Samantha Kolovson (Women's Rowing), Dan Muller (Men's Lacrosse)
Winter 2016 - Heather MacLean (Women's Indoor Track), Alessandro Bomprezzi (Men's Swimming and Diving)

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