March 24, 2011

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Massachusetts' Adam Duffield and Richmond's Nicole LePere have been named the Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, in voting conducted among the conference's sports information directors.

Duffield finished second at the 2011 Atlantic 10 Championships in the three-meter dive, earning 290.95 points. The Brookfield, Conn., native has finished in the top-three in the one or three-meter dive in every meet this season and swept both events against Fordham. His top scores in the one-meter (290.10) and three-meter (307.80) dives rank seventh all-time in UMass history. The senior boasts a 3.602 grade point average while majoring in industrial engineering.

Joining Duffield on the men's side are Robert Gitman of Fordham, George Washington's Alex Etz, La Salle's Eric Patenaude and Austin Thomas, Massachusett's Dan Backler and Alexander Merkulov, St. Bonaventure's Peter Koening and Mike Murphy and Saint Louis' Michael Dahle.

LePere set a new A-10 Championship and school record as part of the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay team that book a time of 1:31.57. She was also a member of the 400-yard medley relay team that finished first. The senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., placed third in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, and finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle at the Atlantic 10 Championship. She is a business administration major and maintains a 3.41 grade point average.

LePere is joined by Duquesne's Caitlin Zajko, Megan McGorry of Fordham, Paola Leor of George Washington, La Salle's Holly Biro and Emily Heath, Massachusetts' Tavis Potter and Jessica Starosielec, Stacey Stepniak of Rhode Island, Mina Vucic of Richmond and Xavier's Kari Peglar.

--www.atlantic10.com--