Dec. 20, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Ten different Wildcats earned Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference accolades, the team learned today. The league cited 79 student-athletes on its academic team, including 40 offensive players and 39 defensive players.
On the offensive end, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Idriz Bauta (Colts Neck, N.Y.), senior wide receiver John Dieser (Bethlehem, Pa.), senior kicker/punter Adam James (Marietta, Ga.), sophomore quarterback Frank Jankowski (Berwick, Pa.) and senior wide receiver Alex Koplin (Pasadena, Calif.) were each named to the team.
Bauta played in all 11 games this season and helped the Wildcat offense average 23.4 points per game this season while allowing just 29 sacks. He is an undeclared major. Dieser, who is enrolled in the MBA program at Villanova, ranked second on the team in receptions and receiving yards. He totaled 55 catches for 805 yards and six touchdowns on the season. James was the team's punter during the season and averaged 40.1 yards on 47 punts. He delivered a career-best 65-yard attempt and had 16 punts land inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He is currently enrolled in the University's Master of Finance program. Jankowski, an education major, started 10 of 11 games at quarterback and completed 261-of-421 passes for 3,058 yards and 18 scores. He averaged 278.0 passing yards per game. Koplin, an accounting major who has been a four-year member of the team, played in a total of seven games.
Earning mention on the defensive side were junior safety Allyn Bacchus (Hampton, Va.), junior linebacker J.C. Cooper (Carlsbad, Calif.), senior linebacker Brian Hulea (Canfield, Ohio), sophomore defensive back Zach Mariacher (New Castle, Pa.) and sophomore linebacker Blake Shubert (Fairfax Station, Va.).
Hulea became the team's all-time tackle leader in his final game and finished his career with 431 stops. This season he led the team and Atlantic 10 Conference with 135 tackles, including four tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, three pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He is enrolled in an MBA program and was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Football All-Area Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bacchus was second on the team in tackles with 118 and tallied 5.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, five pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He majors in education.
Mariacher had 27 tackles while playing in just six games, including 2.5 tackles for a loss. He registered 14 solo stops and had 13 assisted. Shubert tallied 21 tackles (13 solo, eight assisted) while playing eight games and Cooper had 19 tackles in 10 contests.
To be eligible for the Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 and be a starter or key reserve. Voting is conducted by the Atlantic 10 Football Conference's sports information directors. First-year freshmen are ineligible.
The conference also named James Madison's Matt Nagerko the Student-Athlete of the Year.
