University of Massachusets Athletics

UMass Places League-High 10 Athletes On A-10 Winter Academic Teams

UMass Places League-High 10 Athletes On A-10 Winter Academic Teams Track's Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng is athlete of the year pick.



April 26, 2002

AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts placed a league-high 10 student-athletes on the seven winter Atlantic 10 academic all-conference teams announced today by the league office.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a grade point average of at least a 3.00 and be a starter or key reserve on his/her team. Voting is conducted by the A-10's sports information directors and the number of student-athletes selected to a team reflects the standard-sized team in that sport. Richmond (eight) and Duquesne (seven) also placed more than six student-athletes on the league's seven winter teams.

The A-10 champion UMass men's swimming team placed three student-athletes on the team in sophomore Damian Stoy (Pocono Pines, Pa.), sophomore Peter Tawczynski (Holden, Mass.) and junior Matt Woodfield (Naugatuck, Conn.). Stoy carries a 3.73 GPA in plant soils, while Tawczynski has a 3.30 GPA in management and Woodfield owns a 3.67 GPA in mathematics.

The Minuteman indoor track team had three selections, including the sport's student-athlete of the year in junior Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng (Accra, Ghana). Frimpong-Boateng won the 55-meter dash at the 2002 Verizon A-10 Championships in a meet-record-tying and school-record 6.30 seconds. The New England 55-meter dash champion won the 55 meters in six of seven regular season meets he competed in, and also added the A-10 indoor 200-meter title to his growing list of accomplishments.

In addition to Frimpong-Boateng, who carries a 3.26 GPA in microbiology, senior Mike Howell (Haverhill, Mass.) and senior Erik Peterson (Seekonk, Mass.) were named to the team. Howell has a 3.70 GPA in accounting, while Peterson carries a 3.92 GPA in environmental science.

The Massachusetts women's gymnastics team also had a trio of honorees in senior Tracy Chew (Silver Spring, Md.), junior Jen Gendron (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore Mellory Giberson (Bingham, Maine). Chew has a 3.55 GPA in exercise science, while Gendron owns a 3.30 GPA in sociology and Giberson, the 2001 Atlantic 10 rookie of the year, has a 3.88 GPA in exercise science.

Senior Becky Hunnewell (Sandwich, Mass.), who earned outstanding swimmer honors at the 2002 Verizon A-10 Championships, was named to the academic all-league women's swimming team. A two-time A-10 Championship outstanding performer winner, Hunnewell won a pair of gold medals at the 2002 A-10 meet and recorded the school's first-ever NCAA provisional-qualifying mark. She boasts a 3.32 GPA in French Studies.

-umass-