Six UB Student-Athletes Named SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

UB leads the four SUNY Universities in selections
BUFFALO, NY - Six University at Buffalo student-athletes have been selected as SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award winners for 2006-07. The Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award was created in 2003-04 to recognize students who have combined academic excellence and outstanding athletic achievement at the Division I, Division III and NJCAA levels at SUNY schools. One award winner was selected in each sport at each of the three athletic levels - for a total of 73 students in 19 different sports from 31 SUNY campuses. For the third time in four years, UB led the way in selections with six student-athletes. UB had seven selections each of the first two years and four last season. In addition to UB's six selection for 2006-07, Albany and Binghamton each had five winners, while Stony Brook had four. Buffalo's winners this year were as follows:

Dan Bell

Dan Bell (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame Cathedral)
Men's Soccer, 3.734 GPA, Political Science
One of the top goalies ever to wear a UB uniform, Bell has also succeeded in the classroom, as he won the Clifford C. Furnas Scholarship Award, the highest academic honor given to a student-athlete at UB. On the field, Bell was named first-team All-MAC following a season where he recorded a 0.89 goals against average.

Meili Carpenter

Meili Carpenter (Boulder, CO/Fairview)
Women's Swimming and Diving, 4.00 GPA, Undeclared
Carpenter was named second-team All-MAC following a second place finish in the one-meter and fifth place finish in the three-meter dive at this year's MAC Championships. After just her freshmen season, Carpenter set the UB school record for the three-meter dive last season.

Mike Ragusa

Mike Ragusa (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro)
Wrestling, 3.204 GPA, Communications
Ragusa finished the 2006-07 campaign with 18 wins, including seven victories in dual-meet action. He started the season with a five-match winning streak and had two streaks during the season where he has won at least three straight matches. Ragusa was named to the Academic All-MAC team.

Mike Rockman

Mike Rockman (Toronto, Ontario/Thornlea)
Men's Tennis, 3.615 GPA, Psychology
Rockman was named to the Academic All-MAC team following this past season. This year, Rockman finished third on the team with 17 wins, having played the majority of his matches at the number one singles spot. Rockman also recorded 19 doubles victories on the year. Rockman, a senior, is leaving UB as its all-time singles leader with 83 career victories.

Andrea Vescio

Andrea Vescio (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N Myer)
Women's Soccer, 3.956 GPA, Management
Vescio lead the Bulls with six goals this past season, finishing second on the team with 13 points. She was tied for the team-lead with 37 shots and had a season-best two goals in a victory over Eastern Michigan. Following the season, Vescio was named to the Academic All-MAC team. Recently, Vescio was inducted into her high school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Tina Villa

Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs)
Women's Track and Field, 3.838 GPA, Management
Villa holds the second best mark for UB in each of the weight throwing categories for both indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Villa won the discus throw at the Miami Invitational and finished second in the shot put at the meet. Villa was an indoor track and field Academic-All MAC selection following the winter.

05/11/2007