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Central Islip, N.Y. - Six student-athletes have been named as recipients of the East Coast Conference (ECC) Fall 2007 Scholar Athlete of the Year for their respective sports. The honorees were selected by the conference coaches of each respective sport.

Three student-athletes from Adelphi University earned accolades as seniors Denise Auer of Holbrook, N.Y. was named for women's soccer, Matt Dispensa of College Point, N.Y. earned the honor for men's cross country, and Laura Flanagan of Boulder, Colo. earned the award for women's volleyball.

Sophomore Diane Kobasiuk of Dowling College and Mastic Beach, N.Y. earned the honor in women's tennis, senior Dan Carlos of LIU/C.W. Post and Westbury, N.Y. was named the men's soccer recipient, and senior Alissa von Schmidt of the University of New Haven and Barkhamsted, Conn. was named the women's cross country honoree.

Auer is a Speech Pathology major who holds a 3.80 cumulative grade point average. A midfielder with the Panthers, Auer appeared in 18 games this past season starting 17 and finished with six goals and four assists for 16 points. She is a two time ECC First Team All Conference selection (2006, 2007) and was also named First Team NSCAA All Northeast Region this past season. A CoSIDA First Team All District Selection in 2006, Auer is also a former ECC All Conference selection (2005) and member of the ECC All Academic Team.

Dispensa, a Business Management major, holds a 3.58 GPA. A two time ECC First Team All Conference honoree, Dispensa placed second overall at this past Fall's ECC Championships. A two time Division II Cross Country All-Academic Honoree (2006, 2007), Dispensa has also been a member of the ECC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Team, and was named to the IC4A All-East squad this past Fall. On the cross country trails, Dispensa placed in the top-35 in all six meet in which he competed. He finished 20th at the Division II Northeast Regional meet and 18th at the IC4A championship meet.

Flanagan, a middle blocker with the Panthers' volleyball squad, is a Business Administration major holding a 3.86 GPA. An ECC First Team All Conference honoree this past Fall, Flanagan also earned Second-Team CoSIDA/ESPN All-District Honors (2007), Second Team All-ECC (2006), CoSIDA/ESPN All-District Honors (2006), was Faculty Recognition Award Recipient at the National Student Athlete Awards Day (2006)...Third-Team All-ECC (2005), and is a two time member of the ECC All-Academic Team. On the court,  Flanagan is the program record holder for career total blocks (343) and for single season hitting percentage (.329), also second in all-time kills (1013).

Kobasiuk is a Mathematics Education major who maintains a perfect 4.00 GPA. An ECC All Conference Second Team honoree this past Fall, Kobasiuk posted a 6-3 mark at No. 1 doubles, and sported a combined 10-2 mark in singles play, with a 3-0 mark at No. 2 singles and a 7-2 record at No. 3 singles. She finished as the runner up of the ECC Individual Flight Championships at the third flight.

Carlos is majoring in History Education and holds a 3.83 GPA. A defender, Carlos was one of only two Pioneers to start all 17 games this past season and has played in 67 career contests. He served as co-captain and a defensive anchor of the team and contributed three assists offensively.

Von Schmidt is a Criminal Justice, Investigative Services major, who maintains a 3.75 GPA. A four-time ECC All Conference selection, she placed fourth overall at this Fall's conference championships and went on to place 26^th at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships.

Along with the scholar-athlete award winners, the ECC has also announced the fall scholar-athlete honor roll from all six ECC Fall sports. A complete list of honorees follows.

About the ECC

The East Coast Conference was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among ECC member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way.  The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits.