July 12, 2012

Seven Swarthmore Student-Athletes Named to Philadelphia Inquirer Spring Academic All-Area Teams

PHILADELPHIA - Seven Swarthmore student-athletes -- Max Bressman  '12 (men's tennis), Kyle Crawford '12 (baseball), Melissa Frick  '12 (track & field), Max Hubbard '12 (men's lacrosse), Rebecca Hammond  '13 (track & field), Jonathan Molloy  '14 (lacrosse) and Kyle Knapp '14 (golf) -- have been named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Spring Academic All-Area Teams for their respective sports.

Bressman (Chappaqua, NY) finished the 2012 season with the men's tennis team's best overall record in singles play, finishing 14-5 and 4-1 against Centennial competiton, mostly from the No. 2 position. The play of Bressman helped Swarthmore reach the Centennial Conference Championship Match and return to the national rankings for the first time since 2007.  He was named to the 2011-12 All-Centennial Conference Second Team for singles and doubles play and was also named to the 2011-12 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Crawford, a political science major from Mississauga, Ontario (Canada), led the Garnet in wins (6), and was second on the team in strikeouts (45) and opponent's batting average (.309). In the Spring, Crawford was the recipient of Swarthmore's Kwink Trophy, which is given to the senior male who best exemplified the five princeples of the Society of Kwink -- service, spirit  scholarship, society, and sportsmanship. Off the diamond, Crawford is a member of Swarthmore's nationally-recognized Debate Team,  journalist for Swarthmore's award-winning War News Radio, and winner of the 2011 Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work on WNR.

Frick, a 2012 Fulbright Scholar from Swarthmore, Pa. (Strath Haven), ran the second fastest outdoor 5,000-meter run in school history (17:34.58) at the Princeton Distance Meet this spring, and finished fifth in the 5,000 at the 2012 Centennial Outdoor Championships (17:42.85). Frick is a six-time Academic All-Centennial recipient and was a member of the bronze medal 4x800 team at the 2012 Centennial Indoor Championships (9:44.97).

Hubbard, a 2012 All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention recipient, is a repeat selection to the Academic All-Area Men's Lacrosse Team. In 2012, Hubbard ranked second on the team in goals (16) while picking up 28 ground balls. An economics and biology major from Washington, D.C., Hubbard was a two-time captain of the Garnet and three-time member of the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Hammond is also a repeat selection to the  Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team. A two-time NCAA Championships participant and four-time selection to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, Hammond was the 2012 outdoor silver medalist and indoor bronze medalist in the 800 meter run at the Centennial Championships. The biology and economics major from Winters, Calif. broke her own school record in the 800 meter run (2:12.56) at the 2012 Swarthmore Last Chance Meet.

Knapp, an engineering and computer science major from Temecula, Calif., helped lead the Garnet golf team to a program-best second place finish at the 2012 Centennial Conference Championships. Knapp finished 12th overall and third on the team with a three-day total of 240. A 2011-2012 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll member, Knapp also helped the Garnet achieve a No. 5 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic Region and receive votes in the GCAA National Poll for the first time in program history.

Molloy, an architectural studies major from Nyack, N.Y., was the top offensive player for the Garnet men's lacrosse team during the 2012 season. The sophomore attackman led Swarthmore in goals (20) and ranked second on the team in points (23) this past season. He was also named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.

In order to be eligible for the All-Area 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.