SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Twenty-three Western New England College players were named to the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Academic Team for 2009.
They are (by class):
Seniors (10) - Wide receivers
Rob Chiaccio (Groton, CT), Psychology, and
Chris Vaillant (Holliston, MA), Sport Management; offensive linemen
Matt Cohen (Hertford, NC), Criminal Justice,
David Doiron (Plainville, MA), Economics,
Jason Lebeau (Belchertown, MA), Sport Management, and
Michael Wheeler (Ware, MA), Mechanical Engineering; quarterbacks
Tim Hegarty (Bridgewater, MA), Finance, and
Justin Walz (Groton, CT), Sport Management; defensive lineman
Chris Sormanti (South Hadley, MA), Criminal Justice, and running back
Chris Winn (Norwich, CT), Sport Management.
Cohen, Doiron, Hegarty, Lebeau, Sormanti, Walz, and Wheeler are three-time All-NEFC Academic honorees.
Juniors (5) - Linebackers
Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME), Mechanical Engineering and
Dave McCarten (Little Compton, RI), Sport Management; tight end
Dan Crane (Waterbury, CT), Management; offensive lineman
Brad Medeiros (Little Compton, RI), Sport Management, and defensive back
Pat Meffen (Springfield, MA), Accounting.
Sophomores (8) - Defensive back
Austin Adaskaveg (Southington, CT), Finance; wide receivers
Brian Comerford (Milford, NJ), Sport Management; and
Kenny Muhlback (Groton, CT), Exploratory Business; linebackers
Kevin Dobson (New Castle, DE), History and
Mike Valentine (Newington, CT), Mechanical Engineering; fullback
Ben Donatello (Salem, CT), Sport Management; defensive lineman
Nate Kuzmeski (Tolland, CT), Biomedical Engineering, and offensive lineman
Joe Van Huysen (Killingworth, CT), Secondary Education.
To qualify for the team, a player must have completed three semesters at the same institution and have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.0 or better grade-point-average based on a 4.0 scale.