Four Swarthmore Student-Athletes Named Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area
PHILADELPHIA -- Swarthmore College student-athletes David D'Annunzio '12 (men's soccer), Gina Grubb '10 (field hockey), Julia Luongo '10 (women's soccer) and Brett McLarney '12 (men's soccer) have all been selected as Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Stars for their respective sports, the paper announced on Sunday.
In order to be eligible for the All-Star team, an athlete must be of sophomore athletic standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or key reserve. Ballots for the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Star Teams, which sponsored seven teams (men's cross country, women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball) this fall, were compiled and voted upon by the 28 Philadelphia-Area Sports Information Directors Association (Philly-SIDA).
D'Annunzio (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont), an engineering major, was a star in goal for the Swarthmore men's soccer team, which finished the season 16-2-3 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Despite splitting time with teammate Zach Weimar, D'Annunzio finished third in the Centennial Conference in goals-against average (0.86), save percentage (.838) and shutouts per game (0.40).
This is the second time this season D'Annunzio has been honored for his academics; earlier this season, he was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II Third Team as voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA).
Grubb (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic), a psychology and education major, was the team captain and starting goalie for the Swarthmore field hockey team. Grubb finished the season with 101 saves while sporting a 3.67 goals-against average for the season. She played arguably her best game against No. 8 Johns Hopkins on September 26, when she recorded a career-high 15 saves in an overtimes loss to the Blue Jays. Grubb has been named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for three consecutive seasons (2007-09).
Luongo (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon), an economics major, helped lead the Swarthmore women's soccer team to a 16-4-1 record and its third consecutive ECAC Championship. The midfielder has received a slew of postseason awards this fall, earning First Team All-Centennial Conference, Second Team ECAC South Region and Third Team NSCAA All-Region honors. The team's senior leader, Luongo made the most of her final season, netting a team-leading six goals while also leading the team in points (15) and playing in every game for the Garnet.
McLarney (Lowell, MA/St. John’s Prep), a chemistry major, was a key defender for the Swarthmore men's soccer team, which finished the season 16-2-3 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. McLarney earned All-Centennial Conference Second Team honors after anchoring a Garnet defense that finished second in the Conference in goals allowed (14), goals against average (0.63) and shutouts (10). The Conference also named McLarney Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending October 19 as he led a Garnet backline that shut out St. Mary's College and Franklin & Marshall.
McLarney was also honored for his academics earlier in the season when he was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II First Team - along with teammate D'Annunzio - as voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA).